Ghosts in Us
by Prestige Productions
Summary: Following the events of One Bad Day, the victim lies in a dreamlike limbo where he reminisces about happier days involving the team he destroyed
1. Halcyon Days

_**Sooo apparently my OC's gained infamy? We'll get to that afterwards**_

 _ **Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, Bálor to me, any other entities to their parent companies**_

Bálor Moonlight would sigh as he laid in his infirmary bed, doped up on painkillers and blissfully unaware of the ever-devolving situation between the members of Team RWBY. In extreme pain and horribly confused at the actions of Yang Xiao Long, he would spend his days in this limbo between agony and nothingness contemplating the weight of his actions involving the woman and himself.

"Hey there sleepy B, time to wake up" Yang would lean over his dorm room bed with a smile, the brawler was often content to sneak into the wolf's domicile and watch him resting, at peace and completely devoid of the anger that sometimes overcame him during battle. But today wasn't the kind of day where the golden-maned Huntress could allow herself to spend time watching her silver-haired prince asleep, there was work to be done and very little free time to do it in before her teammates came looking for her.

" _Okay, so we're doing this the fun way!"_ She would grin in anticipation before slowly climbing atop the sleeping wolf and gently moving aside some stray silver locks, gently nuzzling his nose affectionately before planting a kiss upon his lips. _"Man these days are freaking sweet: Got myself a boyfriend, the White Fang's laying low, and this school year's been all kinds of exciting!"_ Yang would deepen the kiss even as the Faunus below her began to stir and respond with a kiss of his own, his amber eyes gleaming with mischief as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Good morning sexy, thought you'd never wake up."

The young man would blush deeply at the buxom woman's words before gently rolling her off of him and letting out a great yawn. "Morning Yang, I'm guessing something big is on tap if you had to do things that way." He would wink an amber eye as he began sitting up and looking over at his girlfriend and noticing the happy smirk on her face. "Yep, this is DEFINITELY big!"

The brawler would grin excitedly as she made her way over to the edge of the bed and helped the drowsy Faunus to his feet, her lilac eyes gleaming with happiness as she began raiding the wolf's closet for something to wear "So, what's the deal with all the wrestling clothes? You planning on heading down to that show in Vale this weekend or something?" Bálor would groan audibly at the mention of said wrestling show, it was one of the rare times that the independent wrestling promotion Ring of Honor made its way to Vale and like always the people were quick to scoop up their tickets and leave him out in the cold "Don't remind me, the one time New Japan and ROH work the same event and it's sold out! Adam Cole versus Shinsuke Nakamura as the main event and I can't see it!" While the names of these individuals didn't ring a bell to the Huntress raiding the closet she was not without empathy for his situation, after all she too had suffered through many a missed Achieve Men concert due to missions at Beacon and her partner Blake's hunt for the truth behind the White Fang's alliance with a human like Roman Torchwick.

"It'll be okay baby, you help me out with what I have planned today and I'm gonna make it worth your while." She would say this saucily before turning and smacking Bálor on the butt, causing him to gasp audibly. "I swear Yang, that's your answer for everything." He would look back at the blonde with a quiet smile as she tossed him his clothes for the day. "Seriously honey, I'm up for anything you want. You just gotta ask me." With that he would saunter off into the washroom to dress for the day which left Yang alone with her thoughts once again, looking around at Bálor's room with a curious eye. Pictures would line the mirror by the wall, most of them would be of the two of them together with the occasional picture of Ruby and himself. _"It's amazing how he manages to keep all these pictures lined together with the bare-minimum of reflective surface needed for styling."_ She would shudder as she imagined her mirror dotted with photos, trying to maintain her perfect hair would be a nightmare without the full use of her mirror. " _Nahh, that's too much of a hassle even for me."_ She would start pacing his room, looking curiously at his various belongings: posters of today's current superstars lined his wall, below them were books on Faunus history, criminal law, one shelf was completely full of comic book trade paperbacks. _"Geez, how many comic books does one guy need?"_ She would begin reaching for the book at the top of the pile: _Batman: Battle for the Cowl_ and begin flipping through it with some interest. By the time she had gotten to the climactic battle between Dick Grayson, the original Robin and Jason Todd, the former Robin turned Red Hood, Yang was blissfully unaware that the amber eyed Faunus was leaning over her shoulder and reading along with her in silence.

"Geez, how did this 'Batman' die anyhow? And why are these guys fighting to take his place?" The brawler's brow would furrow as she continued reading on, the battle between protégées having concluded in Grayson's victory before taking up the mantle of the Bat.

"The Batman's a symbol of justice in the lawless hell that is Gotham City" He would finally speak up, causing her to jump and load up her new weapon the Howling Dragons in anticipating an attack and dropping the comic on the floor. "As I was saying, he's sort of the lone Huntsman taking on Gotham's criminals-their Grimm as it were." The lilac eyed Huntress would sigh as she leaned down to pick up the book and set it back on his shelf. "Keep that up and you'll be as good as Blake one day." She would look back to see him pulling on a hoodie and grinning sheepishly, as he shook his head. "Alright honey, we're headin' out!" Bálor would smile wistfully and shake his head as they left his dorm. "You know; it would be nice to know where the Dust we were going Yang, I kind of planned on spending my morning working on designs for a new weapon." Yang would giggle mischievously before taking his hands in hers.

The pair would soon find themselves in line for an Achieve Men autograph signing; the crowd was mostly a mass of giggling fangirls which included one very excited Yang, Bálor on the other hand was none-too-pleased to be among the gaggle of excited (and probably hormonal) females. "I knew I should've stayed in bed today." He would grumble to himself as they slowly moved closer to the boy band who currently had the number one hit pop song in all of Vale: ' _Platinum Trophy Gal"._ The wolf kept trudging forward even as Yang hummed the hit song from her spot behind him, causing further agitation to the silver haired young man. _"Must. Resist. Urge to use Semblance!"_ By the time they had finally made their way to the front, Yang was trembling with excitement at the prospect of finally getting their promotional posters autographed. "Oooh I can't believe it!" The golden-maned girl would look at the group of young men in silent awe, leaving the girls behind them bristling with impatience and the boy band slightly nonplussed at her reaction.

"So miss, who do we make this out to…?" The frontman would smile charmingly, causing the brawler to swoon and fall back into the arms of a sour faced Bálor who would groan and help her back to a standing position. "Pardon her behavior; she's clearly a huge fan, spent all last night awake in anticipation of this day." The amber eyed Hunter would sigh as she slipped back against him in yet another swoon, this time he would take a knee and lower Yang to the floor. "Just make hers out to Yang Xiao Long, as for mine..it's for a good friend of mine: Ruby Rose." The guys would nod appreciatively, taking both posters from the clearly exasperated Bálor and signing them individually as the buxom young woman finally came to.

"Wha..where am I? She would blink her eyes a few times as she tried to remember just where she was. "We're at an autograph signing; remember you've been dying to go here since last night?" The amber-eyed Faunus would wink playfully before helping her up and watching on with a polite smile as Yang did what she did best: Light up a room with her personality and grab the attention of the Achieve Men (as well as the few guys who had probably been dragged along by their significant others, judging by the subtle elbow jabs to the ribs a few were receiving.) it was always like this for him. She enjoyed the spotlight while he hung back, trying to be the supportive boyfriend even though he was itching to gouge out the eye of every man in the room.

"Ahhh, another satisfied audience!" The brawler would be walking on a few paces ahead of the still agitated Hunter, unaware of the curses he was muttering under his breath while trying not to clench his fists and crumple up the autographed poster he had managed to snag for the absent reaper. "You're awful quiet back there B, everything alright?" She would slow her pace until they were side by side, taking his hand in hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Sorry I wrangled you in on this Bálor, but this was my one chance to see them before they left for Mistral on their world tour." Yang would stop and pull him close, gently scratching behind the young man's ears playfully. "C'mon, who's my good boy? Huh? Huh? Who's my good boy?" She would smile as the irate young man slowly began to relax and eventually lay his head on her shoulder, inhaling the scent of her shampoo.

"You remembered I like Coconut, you knew I would react this way and planned ahead." He would smile sadly and wrap his arms around her waist, taking another whiff of her hair and nuzzling her neck. "I'm really lucky to have a girl like you in my life Yang." Unbeknownst to him the blonde would be sneaking a pair of hastily bought tickets to a certain event in his pocket, she blushed upon imagining the look of joy upon his face when he would eventually discover them.

 _"_ _Trust me baby, we're both the lucky ones here."_

Yang would be sitting in Ozpin's office; her lilac eyes would be bloodshot and darkened from lack of sleep, the events from her attack on Bálor replaying in her mind. Only now she wasn't blinded by the anger and pain of a broken heart, but she did see herself cutting up her ex's back and ranting about "feeling true pain", she heard her dear wolf crying out in agony even as she smothered him with her body while enjoying it with a fit of laughter.

"Why? Why would I do something so horrible to him?!" She would clench her fists angrily as her mind replayed it again, only this time she would try fighting back against this crazed version of herself with every fiber of her being. "Stop it! Stop it Dust-damn you!" Her dragons would pass through the other Yang without messing up a single strand of her golden hair, causing the true Xiao Long to try and set her sights upon rescuing the fallen Faunus instead. "Baby, baby just hang on!" Yang would immediately reach over and try to take Bálor away from the terrible situation her berserk self had placed him in, crying out as her hands once again passed through in vain. "Why is this happening?!"

 _"_ _Because you wanted the pain to stop, but you lacked the discipline to look inside yourself for answers."_ She would recognize the voice as the one belonging to her masked benefactor, the person who was training her to master both her weapon and her Semblance: Raven Branwen.

 _"_ _First loves are always the cruelest; not because the of the uncertainty of the situation, but rather the purity behind the bond involved and the raw strength both sides expend in trying to hold onto it._

Yang would sigh and stare at her hands, still encased within her Howling Dragons which were now shimmering a dull golden glow. "Are you saying that I'm the one to blame for all this misfortune?" The brawler would shake her head incredulously as her mind reflected upon her time as someone's 'girlfriend': He had his quirks, the obsession with wrestling being the biggest and most agitating. But he was also angry at the fact that all of Beacon opposed him, bitter at the fact that every time he would take one step forward he would be thrown back two more, but most of all the boy she loved was afraid, afraid of letting down those few individuals who did trust him.

 _"_ _No Yang; the boy was named after a demon for a reason, someone wants this little monster to mature and become-"Her_ golden mane would burn brightly at the woman's words, even as the final climactic clash between them played out as she lashed out with scalpel slashing downward as she sliced down from his right eye, down his cheek, before finally cutting off the fingers of his open hand.

He had never planned to harm her, even after all the pain she and others had inflicted upon him. " _I love you."_ This time it was Bálor's voice that she would hear, before letting out a scream of pain as his wounds finally registered, even up to that last second before scalpel met flesh he had believed in the bond they shared.

"I…love you too." Yang would whisper this to herself as she opened her eyes to find Raven looking down at her, mask in hand as she shielded her eyes from the brawler's radiant glow.

"Yes, now we can finally begin." The older Huntress would smile as she held out her hand for the younger woman to take, but she would shake her head firmly as she stood up from her chair.

"Just let me say goodbye"

 _ **Well, a new story. More OC centered-ness, I get that the way I do things rubs a good chunk of you all the wrong way, that's fine. Say what you will, mock away, hell send me your parody-fics because I need something to read while I'm on the porcelain throne.**_

 _ **I'm serious, I'll even leave a fair review. These things aren't gonna change because I modeled my OC after me (with the obvious exception being that he can walk)**_


	2. Enemy in Black

_**This should've been up a week ago, but thanks to Red Red Kroovy I've been too afraid to even boot up my laptop (Shell-shock from Reviews I guess) I won't apologize for that fic, nor anything else I wrote, I don't do this to please anyone. I just want to use my voice for the good of RWBY and everything it's given me.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, Bálor to me**_

For Blake Belladonna the subject that was Bálor Moonlight was still something of a raw nerve that had yet to heal.

She had been one of the few people to not share her team's seemingly instant magnetic attraction to the wolf Faunus and had spent her time trying to figure out just what it was that attracted a free spirited woman like her partner Yang to a seemingly incompetent ass like Bálor. "It just doesn't make sense, she's never been the type to attach herself to one man, yet he seems to tame her like a breeder breaking in a mare" The feline would sigh and look around at the now empty dorm room, her once unbreakable team was now very much fragmented as each of the girls were dealing with the fallout from a very public suicide attempt.

"There has to be something behind it all, there's no way Yang would fall head over heels for a lunatic like him!" Blake would nod in determination as she got up from her seat and left her dorm room, heading down the hall to his room, the answers would definitely be found there.

What she didn't expect to find upon her arrival to Bálor's dorm was Professor Ozpin, who was quietly examining the photos that lined the young man's mirror. Blake would hide herself outside the doorway while trying to figure how she would make her way past the veteran Huntsman.

"You don't need to hide Miss Belladonna." Ozpin would sigh as he examined a picture of the wolf with his Bullet Club gear on and a smiling Ruby Rose with her arms around his waist, it warmed his heart to see the once solitary young man at peace. "I suppose you're also here for answers to the madness that currently grips our academy at the moment." The raven haired Faunus would spare herself a brief eye roll before entering the lair of her supposed enemy.

"The answer's fairly obvious here Professor, nothing's been right since you let your little dog outta his cage in Vacuo without any sort of leash." She would sigh as she found a framed photo of Yang hugging Bálor tightly to her well-endowed figure even though the silver-haired Faunus's cheeks had gone beet red during the act. " _I just don't understand what there is to be so enamored about him."_ Blake tried to think back on her own experiences with the amber-eyed Faunus, although that would prove difficult due to the holes in her memory courtesy of the Vacuan Brain Moth that had been feeding off of her for a good portion of her tenure.

Exactly how it attached itself to her also remained a mystery to be solved.

Ozpin would merely nod in silence as he observed the feline's inquisitive search, he could tell that her body was tensed up in anticipation and was agitated due to whatever questions were weighing upon her mind. "You do realize that the two of you, despite your rather open contention for one another are cut from vastly similar cloths: Both of you are Faunus having to deal with the pressures of narrow minded individuals as well as your own inner struggles, both of you have been trained outside the usual combat academies and yet..you've both performed exceptionally upon your entry here, even excelling during the initiation test." Blake would scowl upon hearing the headmaster's words, not for one second did she believe that the silver-haired psychopath shared anything in common with someone like herself. "Oh really, because I don't remember seeing him on the initiation field once! Yet he comes in here, is allowed free reign to do whatever he damn well pleases and you shield him from whatever consequences he rightfully has coming!" She would continue to search through the young man's belongings with even more fervor than before, this time moving on to his closet even as Ozpin watched on in silence. "We're nothing alike. Unlike your precious demon I know how to show restraint in the face of bigots like Cardin Winchester, I don't just go flying off the handle and attacking people just because they piss me off!" By this point the raven-haired Huntress had tossed aside the various shirts and hoodies that hung above his closet and was now searching the innards of the structure, stopping once she saw a rusted metal locker bearing his personal symbol: The chibi-fied wolf howling at the moon, she had come to despise that symbol due to the copious amounts of letters and love poems that the wolf had shoved under the door of RWBY's dorm on more than one occasion. " _I thought that voice message made things pretty clear, but I guess if anyone can set him straight then it's Ruby."_ Blake had turned over every last scrap of paper that bared the amber-eyed young man's symbol to her leader in the hopes that upon seeing the mushy poetry within the crimsonette would join their more-or-less unified apathy towards the newcomer. "Professor, what do you make of this?" The feline was nosily dragging the metal footlocker from its resting place at the back of his closet and into the light of day, Ozpin slowly making his way over to inspect the locker himself even as the Faunus was already prying it open. "It appears to be a military footlocker for housing a soldier's possessions, Miss Belladonna I think we should tread lightly-" The veteran Huntsman would sigh as the feline had pried the door off of the rusted footlocker with a satisfied smirk before reaching in and retrieving a worn out leather jacket with a tattered insignia on the shoulder. Ozpin would examine it carefully, recognizing the symbol Vacuan military but nothing else beyond that as he dug in through the footlocker quietly. Blake however would stare at that charging wolf symbol in a state of shock, her yellow eyes widening as her mind flashed back to her days in the White Fang.

It was just supposed to be another snatch and grab from a local Schnee Dust Company warehouse, Adam Taurus, herself, and a handful of fresh eyed hopefuls new to the cause had planned to overwhelm the regular warehouse night guards and dispose of the Dust shipments there while pilfering supplies for themselves.

However, the security team that awaited them weren't exactly the average overweight and underpaid security goons, nor were they the usual Atleasian security robot force. Standing before the members of the White Fang were a single group of individuals hellbent on stopping their progress before they had even broken through the door, they all wore the same leather jacket with the charging wolf insignia, the same brown camouflage pants, and with the exception of one very bored looking brunette the same stoic look on their faces. It was the type of look that screamed 'we've done this before; you don't stand a chance against us.' The cadets were clearly at a loss as a woman with fire red hair stepped forward and appraised the group in silence, stopping to raise her hand. Adam would instinctively unsheathe his sword and go charging in, but before he could strike her the woman would snap her fingers as a shot rang out, cutting down a cadet before she could even register what was happening while the bored brunette from before would kick a startled Adam back a few feet with a cocky smirk before settling back on the bored look from before.

"So, this is the White Fang that has Gideon Schnee shitting his pants like a helpless child..I expected more from you people." The redhead would signal for the bored brunette and the silver-maned youth behind her to step forward, the brunette would sigh but ready his fists as metal began to coat his arms and legs as the lethargic expression was replaced with a venomous sneer while the silver-maned young man stared at Blake apologetically as eight crystalline swords floated from the rotating scabbard behind him.

"Boss, do we really have to hurt these people?" He would ask this while keeping his gaze solely on the feline in front of him, if it weren't for the fact that one of his group had already killed one of the rookies Blake might have actually felt pity for him. "Aww c'mon, not this again!" This time the brunette with the metal coated limbs would pipe up with a thickly accented grumble of annoyance at his comrade. "You've already got a pretty kitty sitting up in the rafters, or are you already bored with Asada?" Blushing furiously, the soldier with the levitating swords would growl in protest. "N-No! Strawberry's my partner, I'd sooner lose an eye and a hand before even considering replacing her!" The pair would be so caught up in their argument that both failed to notice Adam signaling for the cadets to go around back as he nodded to Blake, who was already unsheathing her Gambol Shroud and waiting for the signal from her partner to counter attack. He barely even had to look back at her before giving a nod in affirmation as the two of them charged forward in a furious ballet of sword strikes, their opponents would shield themselves with blade and metallic limb respectively in a startling turnaround of defense.

"Just as I taught you boys, you do make me so proud." She would say this with a dry tone even as shots rang out from the rafters above them, cadets dropping like flies under their sniper's steady gaze. "Honestly, I don't see why we even agreed to do this. Gideon horrifically underestimated this bunch of louts." Their leader would proceed to quickly subdue and then snap the neck of an incoming deer Faunus before viciously ripping out the young man's antlers with a satisfied purr of pleasure.

"What ARE you people?!" Blake would cry out as she used a clone to dodge a flurry of blade strikes from the silver-haired Faunus in front of her, countering with a flurry of strikes from Gambol Shroud before the remaining blades could compensate for the hole in his defense. "You're murdering innocent Faunus and for what, because somebody ordered you to?" The wolf would step back even as sniper fire rained down upon Blake, unlike the previous rounds fired earlier these were frantic and unrestrained. It was as if the shooter were verbally trying to force the feline Faunus away from her opponent at all costs, this theory was confirmed when the silver maned young man gave a thumbs up to the rafters before summoning his weapons to surround him again. "That must be your partner up there isn't it?" The wolf would nod with a confident smile as a ruby red colored blade settled in his hands. "Strawberry's very protective of me, like any big sister would be." His smile would fade as he charged in to attack, stopping as Blake used her speed to get behind him only to be met with a pair of blades blocking her path. "I'm not stupid you know, those fancy clones aren't going to work on me little kitty-" His banter would be cut short as a bullet whizzed by his ear, earning a yelp of surprise from the wolf Faunus. "Alright sis! I'll stop flirting..sheesh." Blake would flush in embarrassment before parrying a blow from her clearly agitated foe, this wasn't the first time a fellow Faunus would make a pass at her but those were usually lobbed outside of combat situations. The two of them would clash once again as the lines between memory and reality blurred, the flirty young wolf from before was now gone and in his place stood her hated enemy. Only now she could see the resemblance between Bálor and the young man from back then, no cocky smirks, no Bullet Club bullshit. Just a silver haired wolf looking for a place to call home. " _You..it was you back then!"_ The feline would look around in shock at the carnage around her, gone were Adam, as well as the rest of the wolf's cronies. It was just the two of them, an abandoned warehouse, and the rotted bodies of those she once called comrades. " _You killed them all!"_ Blake lashed out with the frenzied fury of hatred, wanting nothing more than to end this nightmare she found herself in, but this Bálor was smarter, more reckless, catching the blade with relative ease even as his hands began to bleed. "That's really what you want to believe isn't it kitten, that I'm some plague designed to make all your lives miserable right?!" The amber-eyed Faunus would growl as his Semblance made itself known, feeling herself being forced to her knees by the young man's telekinetic ability. "If you really believe me to be some sort of demon then vanquish me already goddammit!"

Blake would gasp as she felt herself being pulled back into reality as she felt the headmaster's hand upon her shoulder as he looked upon his student with concern etched upon his face. "Are you alright Miss Belladonna?" He would frown upon noticing her white knuckled grip upon the leather jacket and the fact she was now trembling rather aggressively.

"I need to head to the infirmary Professor, I need.." She would shake her head as she made her way out of the wolf's dorm and began her trek to the Academy's infirmary as the vision of those poor innocent souls losing their lives to sniper fire played in her mind. " _There's no way in Hell that Ozpin's going to let me end this by myself!"_ The feline would pop her knuckles with ease, even as she was holding the leather jacket from his locker and suppressing a hiss as she heard voices coming from inside the room. " _Ruby?"_ The raven-haired Huntress would focus her hearing as she listened in on what her leader was saying.

"Doc, is there any chance we can save the fingers that were cut away, I know that his eye's too far gone but there has to be a way to help him!" Blake would sigh quietly as she heard the desperation in the crimsonette's voice, clearly her revelation of the various pieces of love poetry had failed miserably. " _Ruby, even Yang eventually saw Bálor's true nature..why haven't you snapped out of it?"_ She knew that there was no point in convincing her, the demon's spell over her had to be broken through force and while she knew that Ruby would be distraught over losing her little pet, it was clear that unlike the memories of her lost comrades, time would heal that wound. " _I'm sorry Ruby, but this has to end now!"_ She would make her way past the irate reaper with absolute silence, nearing the wolf that had caused everyone in Beacon's wall some sort of grief and while she didn't have her Gambol Shroud on hand the feline figured there was some sort of ironic justice in smothering the young man with his old uniform.

"Ugh..Ruby?" Bálor could definitely hear the sounds of somebody entering his room, but they lacked the lightened thud that usually accompanied his little Rose's boots. _"Enemy!"_ He would quickly reach for the shiv he had fashion from the hospital spork only to feel someone grip his wrist tightly before something began cutting off his air supply. " _No, no no I can't die now!"_ The silver-haired Hunter would thrash about even as he struggled to hang onto what little life was resting in his lungs. " _She needs me!"_ His memories of happier times with the crimsonette played out in his mind: She was flourishing as a Huntress, getting bolder and stronger in combat while bringing joy to the children of Vale as 'Ruby Red' one half of the slightly famous Vaudevillains of the promenade, and becoming more confident in herself as a woman. " _I can't leave her!"_ The amber-eyed Faunus would try using his Semblance to force the jacket out of his mouth, the individual on the other end would merely exert more strength to counter his efforts. " _Dammit, I just can't fight this bastard off…forgive my lovely little Rose, but it appears this is the end for us."_ Bálor could feel the darkness slipping in around him, deciding to give one final push with his Semblance but this time to the area around him to break the bed, the monitors, anything that would raise the alarm of the medical staff. " _I may be on the express train to Hell, but you're not getting away with this!"_ Sure enough alarms would begin to blare as announcement for a Code Blue was heard throughout the infirmary as footsteps pounded into the room.

"Hey you! Stop that right now!" The voices of the medical staff were dulled as the obstruction that had been smothering him was pulled away, finally allowing him both some much needed fresh air as well as a view of his attacker.

"Blake?" The wolf would gasp in a quick gulp of air before focusing his Semblance upon the individuals flooding his hospital room, forcing the medical staff either against the wall or down on the floor with the feline being forced closer to him as he finally examined what had been smothering him. "M-my old uniform?" Bálor would look upon the yellow eyed Faunus in shock, the sweat around his forehead building from exertion of his ability. "I guess you've been snooping around my stuff haven't you kitten?" He would force a lighthearted laugh even as she hissed in anger at his demeanor.

"You bastard! You know what that uniform embodies: The blood of helpless Faunus who just wanted a chance at equality!" Blake would snarl even as she shuddered angrily. "They were just kids! They didn't know that they were going up against you and your merry little band of psychos! They didn't stand a chance-" The amber-eyed wolf would snarl as he flung the feline up to the ceiling and then back to his side.

"I have no idea what you're fucking talking about Belladonna!" He would look at his tattered uniform with a look of heartbreak and shame even as Blake began retelling story of the White Fang's failed raid upon an SDC warehouse, the various cadets who had been killed in the ensuing battle, as well as his own clash against her. "I..remember that day, yes we did kill some members of the Fang but it was UNDER ORDERS THAT I DIDN'T AGREE WITH!" His anger would only serve to inflict more pain upon those held down by his Semblance, but Blake would remain unconvinced as she glared back at her amber eyed torturer. "Look, I remember the SDC blitz pretty well..at least the stuff that happened AFTER big sis took a shot at me.

Bálor winced as his ear still burned from the near miss with Asada's bullet as he clashed with the raven-haired feline, she was attractive that was for sure but he had been asked to take her out. " _I hate this, I only wanted to escape the pits!"_ The wolf would be taken aback as he had seemingly scored a hit on his feline foe, only to have her disappear into nothingness before striking him on the shoulder as he felt the burning pain of a fresh wound. "Shit, Valor! How 'bout a freaking hand here!?" He would look toward his brunette haired comrade to find him laughing off his opponent's strikes as his sword met metallic skin, not even bothering to block when his opponent switched to using his shotgun scabbard. "No can do mate, this bloke's hilarious!" He would stop to yawn even as Adam tried cutting through the young man's Semblance enhanced skin. "My God you're really trying your hardest aren't ya there pal?" The foolhardy soldier would laugh, unaware of his opponent charging up his own Semblance as crimson symbols lined his mask and coat.

"You know; you really shouldn't underestimate your opponents." The masked Faunus would smirk as the skies above suddenly went dark, his Semblance now at its maximum as he finally unsheathed his katana in a burst of energy even as Valor shielded himself with his arms.

"Hah, are you kidding me with that-" The brunette-haired antagonist would go silent as his arms scattered away slowly in a flurry of blood red petals, the rest of his body being shielded from the worst of the effects. "What the hell..?" The stumps where his arms used to be erupted in a geyser of blood as Valor stumbled to the ground, mortally wounded and quickly going pale as the younger wolf Faunus looked on in horror as his frenemy was struck down and his arms wilting away like petals thrust upon the wind. Even his feline opponent would be stunned at the actions of her compatriot as the masked swordsman turned his gaze upon the wolf.

"Blake, move now!" The masked man would begin to charge up once more, this time the crimson marks would be slower to form, giving him just the opportunity to strike back with a panicked battle shout as he charged forward.

" _This monster has to be put down before anyone else is hurt!"_ The amber eyed young man would do his best to bifurcate the black coated swordsman before he could finish charging up his devastating attack, but once again the raven-haired feline would block his path with a furious assault of her own. The air rang with the sounds of melodious sword on sword violence as his red-haired leader watched on in silence as her ward was pushed back and his black coated opponent finished recharging his weapon, his symbols glowing bright red as he chuckled sadistically.

"This is the end for you boy!" Adam would grin as he watched his feline partner quickly move out of his striking radius as his finger neared the trigger of his shotgun scabbard for a quicker and even stronger draw. "Give my regards to those poor souls as you round the corner to Hell my young dog eared friend!" The masked Faunus would grin, unaware of the blonde-haired sniper running down the sides of the rafters as she searched for a proper headshot.

"I won't let you wipe my brother off of Remnant!" She would hiss as she pulled the trigger of her rifle, startled to hear the clicking noise associated with an empty magazine. " _No, how could I have lost track of my rounds?"_ Asada could see the panic rising in her little pup's eyes, he was too shell-shocked to get out of the way and the katana wielding madman knew it. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise as she gathered the winds around her to boost her running speed, Strawberry would quickly unclasp the lucky cross she wore around her neck as the winds shoved her forward enabling her to tackle the startled young man aside as Taurus finally pulled the trigger and released his final strike.

 _"_ _Bálor…my precious little brother, we may not have shared the same blood but you were always my family."_ Strawberry Asada could feel the tears of pride welling up in her eyes as she recalled the day she witnessed him ace the initiation test for joining the Charging Wolves (Even though he had bombed the written test in epic fashion.) She remembered the day she had given him his jacket, telling him to always wear it with pride, Asada had been the one to keep him company while the older men hit the Tail House in search of a quick lay, eventually having to explain the Nevermore's and the Buzzboomers to the young wolf when he had finally hit puberty (and again after she had walked in on the poor guy choking the chicken one fine morning in the barracks.) " _You were a little hellion, but I still loved you all the same."_ The lavender eyed Huntress would keep her eyes squarely on her silver-maned sibling even as petals began to obscure her vision. "My sweet little pup, promise me that you'll never forget the lessons your big sis taught you: Stand strong, fight like the devil's on your heels, and never settle for a woman who doesn't make your heart race!" She wanted to say more to the young man, but the force of the petals drowned out even her voice, but she smiled nonetheless knowing that her brother would be alright once the Academy took custody of the wolf.

" _Your big sister will always love you, my precious Baby B"_

"That was the day my only family died!" Back in the present the silver-haired Faunus was still keeping his feline antagonist restrained, even as his vision began to blur from exhaustion. "Because of your precious White Fang and their stupid push for equality, Asada isn't here anymore! And yet I'm forced to coexist with the woman who stood beside my sister's killer like a puppet!" He would sob in agony as he released his helpless victim from their invisible restraints, Blake would shakily rise to her feet with a groan of pain.

"I'm sorry you lost your big sister, but I had no control over what my former partner did that day. You lost good friends and family, but that doesn't give you the right to take your anger out on the people here!" The raven-haired feline would bristle with her own restrained fury as she glared back at the heartbroken young man. "You broke up MY family with your heartless actions and somebody finally gave you your comeuppance, as far as I'm concerned your sister would be ashamed to see what you've done with the second chance she left you with!" Blake would turn away and walk off with an icy glare as she left her hated rival to wallow in his sorrows.

 _ **Well there you have it, Blake's chapter is FINALLY in the books. Solidified as an antagonist to Bálor but still a hero in the eyes of Beacon, some of you may hate this but I have my gripes toward Blake and the way she goes about things. Coming Soon: Weiss Schnee.**_


	3. Catalysts of Emotion

_**Well, happy Volume 3 premiere week for everyone, I've been watching it every morning since Saturday and even though I can pretty much hear the dialogue in my head now that doesn't make it any less awesome! But I digress, onto Weiss's portion.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth or else the Volume 3 soundtrack would be mine already, Bálor Moonlight belongs to me (for better or worse) any other entities, companies or individuals mentioned within belong to their parent company.**_

Weiss Schnee hated what was happening to her team.

Thanks to earlier events Team RWBY was on the verge of disbanding, and each of her fellow Huntresses seemed to have their own goals in mind: For Yang it seemed apparent that she was either on the way to a prison cell or a desperate escape to avoid legal retribution. _"How fitting, considering where her mutt crawled out of it's only fitting that she experiences what he endured."_ The heiress smirked smugly as she mentally crossed out the brawler from her list of good friends before noticing that Blake had entered the room, looking beyond annoyed as she moved to her bunk.

"I take it that you were unable to find your answers?" Weiss would frown slightly upon receiving silence in response to her query, she would sigh and place a hand upon the shoulder of her Faunus companion to try and ease her tension. "Hey..we're gonna get that mutt out of here, even if it means we have to spill his blood to do so." The heiress's brow would furrow in thought as she remembered the only remaining hitch in their plan, her red hooded partner Ruby Rose. "It's just a matter of time before she realizes just what kind of a monster he is." Her fists would clench upon remembering the day she realized that the wolf Faunus wasn't quite the lost little puppy he made himself out to be to the sisters.

It was a month before the suicide incident and the amphitheater stood silent as the crowd awaited yet another elaborate entrance from their resident wrestle-maniac, meanwhile Weiss would be pacing on the dais in irritation as the lights overhead darkened and a spotlight shined upon the doors as they opened and everyone looked back expectantly, except they wouldn't see the silver-haired Faunus waiting to dazzle and amaze them but his crimsonette-haired associate and Weiss's partner standing there with a deep frown.

"Miss Rose, what is the meaning of this? Where's your associate?" Goodwitch would narrow her green eyes as she searched the seats for any sign of the delinquent Faunus boy, less than surprised at the fact that he was running late. "He has three minutes to make it to this amphitheater or he can consider himself suspended." She would glare at Ozpin looking for some kind of confirmation to back up her statement, to her surprise the bespectacled Headmaster would raise his coffee mug in agreement before putting up a countdown clock to further cement his stance.

"Well, here's the thing about that Professor Goodwitch." Ruby would look down at her feet, wondering how best she should explain the situation at hand. "Bálor..kinda isn't feeling too great, something about a bad sub sandwich from the shop in Vale?" Goodwitch would just raise a curious eyebrow in response to her words, while the heiress beside her trembled with indignant rage. "So, if I'm understanding this correctly: you're telling me that Moonlight's gotten food poisoning from a bad sandwich and will be unable to compete in today's matchup?" The older Huntress would be grinning internally at the thought of not having to endure another noisy and elaborate entrance from one of her more antagonistic students. "Very well, than I'm pleased to announce that your winner by way of forfeit-"

"Wait Professor Goodwitch!" The crimsonette would wave off the older woman's announcement of forfeiture before speeding down to the dais and whispering something into her ear, Goodwitch would than flush a deep red as anger crossed her vibrant green eyes. "Absolutely not Miss Rose! Substitutions aren't allowed for Academy sparring matches, regardless of who it is or how famous they are!"

This would pique Weiss's interest greatly; to her knowledge the wolf had to have some lofty connections to have the power over Ozpin that he did, and now it seems that he was flexing his social muscles for her benefit. "It's quite alright Professor, after all it would be a shame to deprive my fellow students of a showing by one of our best students against a properly trained fighter." The audience would murmur slightly as speculation of just who the famous warrior was that would gracious enough to grace the school with their presence, after all they already had a world-renowned Huntress in Pyrrha Nikos and a second would further boost Beacon's lofty renown even further- even if he or she was just passing through. Goodwitch would look to Ozpin once again for some sign of confirmation on whether or not to proceed, the headmaster would nod as he sipped from his coffee cup but the woman swore that somehow the man was all smiles for some reason. "Very well Ruby, the floor is yours." She would hand the microphone to the younger Huntress and proceed to begin rubbing her temples in agitation as she stepped off the dais and finding a seat among her fellow instructors.

"Friends! Classmates! Weiss." The crimsonette would begin her introductions only to be cut off by a sudden 'Hey!' from her snow-haired partner. "It is my absolutely fantastic honor to introduce to you a warrior of great renown, forged in the fires of The Underground and trained by the craftiest of veterans!" This would earn a sudden burst of laughter from Mercury Black who was seated higher up in the stands only to suddenly be silenced by an elbow shot to the ribs by his 'partner' Emerald. "Making his way to Beacon here today all the way from the streets of Boyle Heights, California!" Music would suddenly begin to play from the speakers overhead, further exacerbating Glynda's already modest sized migraine. "Ladies and Gentleman I give to you the former champion of The Underground: Prince Puma!" The doors would burst open as a masked luchador would step into the spotlight, a faux Beowulf pelt draped across his shoulders as he made his way down the aisle to a collective groan from everyone in attendance. Even Ozpin looked a little bitter as he noticed the silver hairs sticking out of 'Prince Puma's' mask.

Weiss however was struck silent as she watched her partner cheering her heart out for this knockoff of a fighter, as per usual Ruby's near-blind devotion to the young man's antics would cause her to ball her fists in fury. "That ignorant, selfish, stupid son of a bitch!" The heiress had seen more than enough of the farce that was playing out before her as she switched the Dust chamber on her Myrtenaster to red and charged up a speed glyph, aiming to finally rid Beacon of his stupidity once and for all. "I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!" With that last utterance of profane verbiage, the heiress would rocket off the dais and straight for the wannabe wrestler's neck.

Only to be met with nothing but an empty aisle as the wolf leap frogged over her as she skidded to a stop to be met with an oncoming kick from her masked foe. "Do you EVER take anything seriously you dolt?!" She would shout as she blocked his kick with ease before countering with one of her own even as Bálor stepped back with a smile on his face.

"Why should I, this is just practice for me." He would dodge her attacks as lightly as he could, making his way out of the aisle way and onto the dais, the cheesy grin leaving his face momentarily as he assumed a battle stance. "Just because you're the one living with the weight of a company on your back doesn't give you the right to dictate my demeanor Princess." Weiss would bristle at the much unwanted pet name he'd had for her, her eyes gleaming with anger as she roared and unleashed a flurry of stabs and slashes at the still-grinning Faunus. "It does when your stupid antics are affecting my partner's sanity!" She would switch Dust Chambers again and encase the floor of the dais in ice, smirking as the wolf started slipping and sliding around in an attempt to gain footing. "Not that she had much to begin with anyways, but at least before you came around she was her own person and not your bumbling little side-dish!" It hurt her to have to say something so awful about her own partner in such a public setting, she would look back to see Ruby biting her lip as she tried not to let the heiress's venomous comments affect her openly. A task that would prove ineffective as tears welled up in her silver eyes, a sight that caused Weiss to flinch internally as the crimsonette ran off in tears. "Ruby, I didn't want to have to go to those extremes but just look at what he's done to us since he's come here." The heiress would look out at her teammates to find Blake nodding in silent agreement while Yang had left from her seat to no doubt comfort her younger sibling's wounded heart. _"At least one of you agrees with me, even if this whole school has gone unanimously_ _nutters."_

"Just when I thought you couldn't sink any lower as a human being, you pull this garbage and surprise me once again Miss Schnee." The heiress would turn around to find the silver haired young man upright, wondering how he'd managed to do so before noticing his feet were no longer touching the icy dais and instead were floating just out of reach of the snow. "I know you have nothing but hatred in your heart for me and I've long since made peace with that fact, but to say something so vile about your fellow Huntress, after she's done nothing to deserve it…" His words would be left hanging in the air much like the silver haired Hunter himself was as he ripped the Prince Puma mask from his face, practice has clearly ended for him.

"You've started this whole mess with your moronic catchphrases and stupid antics! Ruby was an entirely different person before you contaminated our lives with your existence, she was a kind, sweet, innocent girl." Weiss's eyes would narrow slightly as she readied herself for another go with the reviled wolf Faunus across from her, she didn't care that his eyes were now surprisingly cold and focused upon her, this was a battle that she needed to finish once and for all.

Only when she was certain that the demon before her had ceased breathing completely would she allow herself to make amends to her beloved Ruby Rose.

"Oh I so sick and tired of everyone blaming me for changes and goings on around here!" Bálor would snarl as he stared down at the blue-eyed heiress furiously, the ice beneath his feet cracking and splintering to become floating projectiles encircling him as he continued to speak. "You've known Ruby for two freaking years, in that time you've had plenty of opportunities to confess your 'ever-lasting love for Ruby and you've got no one to blame but yourself for that fuck up Princess!" The amber-eyed Faunus would snarl wildly as he launched the ice shards towards his opponent, only to have her repel them with a sequence of well timed slashes and parries.

"Don't you dare try to paint me as a victim you pathetic whelp!" Weiss would set up a few glyphs quickly before charging up after him, this time using her speed to outmaneuver the ice shards and score a cut upon his cheek. "I am a strong and independent Huntress who's above judgement from an irritating piece of trash like you!" She would smile smugly upon seeing the rage further etching itself upon his face, not expecting him to grab her by the throat as quickly as he did. " _How did he manage to react so quickly?!"_

Bálor would glare at the struggling Heiress even as she clawed at his hand in an attempt to break free of his grip. "Now you see here you disgusting, petulant, bitch! I may be nothing but a piece of prison garbage to you, but in the world where I come from you would be nothing but a piece of property forced to get on her knees at the snap of someone's fingers!" He would snap the fingers of his free hand to emphasize his point as the ice surrounding him became a platform below her feet as he released the Heiress who was now gasping for air. "You say that everything I've done has corrupted Ruby's innocent soul? Then go seek the truth from your partner, and if after that you still remain unconvinced than i suggest you take a long hard look in the vanity mirror m'lady." With those final words spoken, the wolf would descend to the ground where Ozpin waited with a less than pleased look upon his face as he led the silver haired Huntsman off of the dais and presumably back to his office.

"I'm pleased to announce that your winner is Weiss Schnee!" Goodwitch's words would shock everyone in the room as all eyes flocked to the overhead screen, sure enough Bálor's Aura level had slipped below the red line while Weiss's had barely been dented.

But the heiress wouldn't waste any time basking in the glory of her victory, instead choosing to retreat from the dais and back to the RWBY dorm to confront her partner.

Back in the present, Weiss would continue to furrow her brow as she recalled the sudden victory despite being overwhelmed by the wolf's Semblance. "I just don't get it, that dolt could've snapped my neck anytime he wished but he didn't. Even curiouser was the fact that I won that match."

"It was his Semblance that did him in" Blake's words would cause the heiress to raise her eyebrow skeptically, clearly demanding an explaination from the feline. "The heavier the object the more energy it takes from him in order to move it, remember when Yang and I shattered the pillar during our battle a couple months ago?" Weiss would shudder upon remembering that day, as even with a dome made of ice dust and help from her friends she and Ruby had nearly been crushed by said pillar. "He barely managed to keep that slab of marble in place long enough for us to be rescued, but if I recall correctly that dumbass was already injured and bleeding when he did that." She remembered the crimsonette telling her as much before the dome began breaking under the weight of the pillar. "So than how does a perfectly healthy mutt lose to me after barely levitating himself, yet manage to lift a piece of broken marble while bleeding like a stuffed pig?"

"That answer's obvious as well." She would carefully remove a tattered photo on Yang's vanity mirror and show it to Weiss, who seemed even more confused than before the raven-haired feline spoke up. "In the former situation, Yang was standing by his side spurring him on to do his best to keep you two safe even though he must have been seconds from collapse." This time it would be the feline who would raise an eyebrow as if to ask "Do you get it?"

"So it didn't matter who his opponent was that day, the bastard would've lost regardless seeing as Ruby had run off and Yang wouldn't have had any reason to want to help Bálor continue to fight on thanks to their breakup a couple weeks earlier!" This fact would cause Weiss further agitation as she imagined someone as weak as Cardin Winchester claiming victory over the silver-haired scourge. "Ya know, that realization just cheapened my victory over that clown for years to come."

"Not really, nobody knows about this little setback but us." "Blake would smile before gently moving her hand from Weiss's shoulder to her cheek, even as the pale-haired Huntress blushed modestly. "And we both know which side of this mess I'm standing on my dear heiress."

Weiss could feel the slight surging of butterflies in her stomach at the raven-haired Faunus's affectionate touch, it had been tough for the both of them since Team SSSN had been called back to Vacuo without warning and only the fact that it had been declared a clear cut emergency order by Haven Academy to withdraw their students posthaste. But they had eventually learned to find solace and comfort in each other's company, and in rare moments such as that one, the hint of something deeper, stronger, and infinitely more confusing.

"Just promise me that once this madness is over, that when that demon is finally exorcised from our school, promise me that we'll still be as close as we are now." Blake would frown as the heiress trembled visibly before burying her face into the Faunus girl's shoulder as slight sobs could be heard. In truth, there was no conceivable way that she could completely promise Weiss the closeness that she was pleading for. The Schnee family were fairly notorious abusers of Faunus both socially and in other less visible ways, even though the heiress herself had learned to tolerate and appreciate Faunus-kind (with the exception of their shared enemy.) the same couldn't be said for the rest of the family tree.

"I promise, I'll stay by your side long after this is over." Blake would sigh happily as the heiress clung to her tightly, racism and doubt be damned she would be the shadowy protector to the heiress's heart for as long as there was life in her body.

 _ **As much as I'd like to comment on the ending or make some stupid joke, I got nothing. I just spent the better part of an hour debating whether or not to go the Monochrome (or is it Checkmate?) route, but by gum I'm doing it! Make of this what you will but I have a class to prepare for.**_

 _ **Ta-ta for now!**_


	4. Thorns

_**Okay, so Ghosts isn't even immune from criticism. I'll discuss that at the end of this chapter,**_

 _ **Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, otherwise Nora would be Thor. Seriously, the Queen of the Castle gained major brownie points with me today. Bálor Moonlight (aka "Worthless Moonlight/Bálor s***light.) belongs to me, don't like him? Too bad.**_

Ruby Rose was at complete loss with how to handle the ever-accelerating implosion of Team RWBY, the actions involving her sister viciously pranking what was effectively now her boyfriend, and to put the cherry on this insane shit sundae she now found herself sitting in Professor Ozpin's office where she was staring down both the wizened headmaster and her uncle: Qrow Branwen, the same man who had taught her how to use the scythe weapon she valued as much as a mother would value the life of their own child.

"What is this all about Professor? I know I already told you all I knew about the incident where Bálor tried to jump, and then the thing in the critical care unit was already over by the time I got there…" Her voice would trail off as she recalled the bloody sight in question, Yang was down on her knees laughing and crying with a bloody scalpel in her hands. _"I was going for the throat…"_ That was the phrase she would keep repeating even as the silver-haired Faunus she had once dated with a quiet but fierce passion lay not too far from her, screaming in agony from a mutilated eye and the fingers of his right hand cut away at varying lengths.

"That's not why I called you in here Miss Rose, it would seem that your uncle has some concerns with the recent anomalies that have befallen our school." Ozpin would smile sadly, taking note of the distracted look in her eyes, the way her body was tensed as if she were just waiting for the signal that allowed her clearance to leave and return to the side of her fallen Faunus. In any other situation he would have released her without hesitation, only this time it wasn't exactly his call to make, as Qrow had insisted upon speaking to his niece openly about his growing concern over her well being.

"Ruby, the reason we called you here was to discuss your current lack of focus towards being a Huntress." The veteran Scythe-user would take over for Ozpin, it was clear that the headmaster had no intention towards calling out the obvious elephant in the room and someone needed to lay down the law to his stray-minded niece. "You were doing so well right up until a certain point in the earlier part of the year, you and your team were a cohesive unit, you were excelling in your studies-"

The crimsonette would narrow her eyes at this statement, surprising even Ozpin with this sudden shift in attitude, clearly the more bubbly continence that the two elder Huntsman had known was thrown by the wayside. "THAT'S what you two called me here for? To give me lip about some falling grades and my team imploding!?" The red-hooded Reaper would scowl as she stood up suddenly, intent upon heading for the door and returning to Bálor's bedside. "We're all big girls Professor, and even big girls squabble like hens sometimes." She would reach for the handle with a sigh, stopping midway when she heard Qrow sigh heavily.

"This isn't just some ordinary female squabble, you've let one petulant little dog come in and piss all over everything you've worked hard for these last two years!" The older man would try to appeal to her sense of reason, not sure just how far her blindness went. However she would simply respond to his allegations with a slight chuckle before turning back to her exasperated uncle and teacher.

"That's not a very nice thing to say about Zwei, he's been a good boy for us since Dad shipped him to Beacon." Ruby would sigh as she looked out the window of Ozpin's office with a mixture of regret and hope. _"I hope you're doing well out there boy, maybe you found someone to travel with..maybe even that guy."_ She would reminisce about the day she met the spiky-haired Keybearer named Sora during one rather frustrating Parent's Day, that was also the last time she'd had any contact with her faithful Corgi, but judging by the fact that her every 'Missing' poster had been tagged with a paw print whenever she went out to check for leads on her furry little friend, she quickly guessed that he had found support and would come home when he felt the time was right.

"You know damn well that statement had nothing to do with Zwei." Qrow would take out his scroll and toss it to the crimsonette: on it was Bálor's unsealed, un-redacted military dossier, listing everything from his last known rank to the number of lives he had taken as a result of his doings as a soldier. "Your precious little demon isn't the awkward buffoon he pretends to be whenever you're around, he's very much a product of Vacuo's Killer Elite training regimen." He would smile in satisfaction as his niece read over the dossier carefully, her face becoming a slight frown by the time she was done.

"I'm sorry I had to reveal such a harsh light on your little friend my dear, but I know that in time you'll-" Qrow would stop speaking as she hurled the scroll back at the older Huntsman, a happy smile lining her face but the molten fury in her eyes negated any sense of warmth that usually followed such a smile.

"Hate to break it to you Uncle Qrow, but my partner Weiss already tried bursting this bubble a while back." She would drop the smile as shock ran across her relative's face, Ozpin would remain impassive however as he contemplated just how the Schnee heiress was able to get her hands on private military data, for himself and Qrow that hadn't been much of an issue due to the presence of an old face from the past who was more than willing to help Ozpin rehabilitate the former assassin while later handing the same information to Qrow as a way to help Ruby snap out of whatever rose-colored blindness her first non-weapon related love interest was impairing her judgment.

"Yeah, it was right around the same time she referred to me as a 'bumbling little side-dish', now that was a low blow..if verbal insults could actually hurt me that is." The crimsonette would prove to be unusually curt as she stared down her uncle and mentor who proceeded to return her stare with icy silence. "She seems to think that my relationship with Bálor is blinding me to what's wrong with the team, when the truth of the matter is that I didn't see everyone's true colors until he showed up!"

Ruby thought back to the day of the 'Prince Puma' gag, in all honesty even she felt it was a terrible idea when he first proposed it to her. But she just couldn't find it in her heart to give it the thumbs-down, after all it was still leagues above the wolf imitating the quixotic Dalton Castle with Jaune and Ren as his 'Boys'. But the severity of the dud that was 'fake Prince Puma' was the furthest thing on the crimsonette's mind, the words of her partner were still very ringing in her ears.

 _" before you came around she was her own person and not your bumbling little side-dish!"_

"I'm not just some bumbling sidekick…I still have my own dreams, my own hopes." Ruby would mutter this to herself as she looked over at the last photo they had taken together as a team in the forest of Forever Fall, they weren't many smiles that day aside from her sister who at the time was very much in the throes of first love. "What happened to us, we were so close as a team before things changed."

A soft tapping at the dorm room door would snap her from her reverie, looking from the photo to the door dejectedly as she stood up. "Yang, I know it's you so just open the door." The door would open slowly, but it wouldn't be the blonde brawler that would make her presence known but her partner, the heiress Weiss Schnee would sigh before entering the RWBY dorm.

"Ruby, about what I said earlier..I apologize for hurting you earlier, but I had to speak the truth: you haven't been yourself since that stupid mutt showed up around here, the Ruby Rose I know would never spend her time holed up in someone else's dorm planning out wrestling-related gags with some new kid with a bad attitude and a shady past!" Weiss would sit down upon the edge of her bunk, finally taking notice of the team photo that the crimsonette was holding in her hands. "The last good photo we all had together was in that forest, I'll give the bastard this much: He can take a good picture, still wouldn't trust him if we were down in the trenches together." The pale-haired Huntress would sigh and set the picture down with a sad smile as she turned to the crimsonette. "I don't know if you can ever forgive me for those hateful words, but I had to do something in order to get through the bullshit he's fed you!" She would grab Ruby's hands and squeeze them slightly as her eyes welled with tears, startling the reaper somewhat at her partner's raw and emotional reaction. "I just want my good friend back, I want the partner that annoyed me but then went on to prove herself as someone amazing!"

Ruby would shake her head calmly, stepping away from the moist-eyed heiress as she tried to comprehend just what was going on between the two of them. Weiss would smile sadly as she removed her scroll from the pocket of her jacket, pulling up a message she had received minutes prior.

"I knew there would be a chance that you wouldn't be convinced, so I took the liberty of calling up some of my father's contacts in Vacuo and had them dig up your mutt's military records." She would project Bálor's dossier onto the wall of their dorm, the first thing Ruby would notice however was how calm and clean cut he looked as a soldier. "He rose through the ranks of Vacuo's Killer Elite Squad, a group of mercenaries specifically trained to dispose of targets that proved to be a threat to the government's better interests." The heiress would sigh as confusion played across her partner's face, deciding that maybe visuals would prove more effective to her simple-minded soul. "Perhaps this footage will get through to you." She would play the grainy security film footage of a familiar looking wolf storming his way through a prison complex, cutting down security guards and escaped convicts during what looked like an-all out riot without even blinking as the Eight Blades of Jaggerjack floated behind him and a cold smirk upon his face. "Do you get it now Ruby, Bálor Moonlight isn't some dimwitted wrestling nerd, he's a cold, ruthless monster!" The camera would go dark as the machine had been destroyed by the amber-eyed Huntsman's blades, leaving her crimsonette-haired partner at a loss for words. "It's only a matter of time before he completely snaps on all of us! Look at what he's done to CRDL, to Blake, what he tried to do to me!" Weiss would show off the developing choke bruise that was forming on her neck from the earlier battle she had with the wolf Faunus, something that would further upset the silver-eyed Huntress even more. "He could've snapped my neck Ruby, I shouldn't even be alive right now!"

Ruby would shake her head in complete denial as she thought back on her friend's demeanor: of course he was prone to outbursts of anger when he was pushed emotionally, but aside from those he was usually laid back and playful, even in combat he constantly was joking and laughing (most of the time he would be the only one laughing). To her, the wolf in that footage and the wolf she knew were so different it was as if they were night and day. "I'm sorry Weiss, I know you mean well by showing me this..and I should be scared as all get out. The crimsonette would hesitate to agree with the heiress outright, the sight of Bálor giving her a lopsided grin as he laid out the Puma getup warmed her cheeks and brought out the ghost of a smile to her lips before disappearing in a flurry of roses.

Ruby would finish her re-telling of the events of that day with a grim smile as she looked upon the faces of her uncle and headmaster Ozpin feeling nothing but apathy for the two older Huntsman. "I've seen the worst of what he can do Uncle Qrow, he decimated an entire team in his first sparring match, I've watched him taken to the limits by one of my closest friends while she was infected by a stupid brain-feeding parasite, and I watched him get physically and mentally destroyed by your other niece after which I had to stop him FROM TAKING HIS OWN LIFE!" The crimsonette was visibly seething as she spoke, it may have been only a handful of days since the incident in question but remembering the look upon his face as he seemingly saluted her on his way to oblivion caused her blood to boil.

"Have you both lost your mental faculties?!" No one boy is worth the efforts of this madness, he's just a two bit punk who got a free pass out of the kennel!" Qrow would glare at Ozpin hatefully, knowing full well that only he would have the sense to try and release a hardened criminal into an Academy full of teenagers and expect something good to come of it. "That stupid mutt doesn't deserve any bit of-" Qrow would see his hot-blooded niece's move toward him coming a mile away as he grabbed her hood as she charged at him in a fit of anger, what he didn't expect however was for the crimsonette to grapevine her legs around the older man's arm and start applying pressure as she locked in an armbar. "The hell!" The older Huntsman would do his best to dislodge the rabid Huntress without hurting her, but he could feel the pain of his muscles being ripped at as she continued to tighten her grip even more.

"Ruby, that's enough!" Ozpin would stand up and glare at the crimsonette through his glasses, he could see the molten hot anger in her silver eyes as Qrow stumbled to the ground as he was growling audibly to avoid screaming outright. "Think about what your mother would say to you in this situation, your first priority should be to tend to the safety of your fallen allies." The headmaster would watch as the fire in her eyes slowly dimmed as the words finally sunk in as she released the hold and stumbled to her feet as she made for the door to his office, Ozpin would smile quietly as he moved to help his old friend back to his feet immediately noticing a familiar stench upon the Scythe-wielder's breath. "I see you've made a bit of a pit-stop coming here, I'd imagine with a more clearer mind you could've chosen a better turn of phrase to describe our resident felon." Qrow would growl as he tried to flex his arm before wincing in pain, his niece had clearly picked up a few new tricks during her time there at Beacon.

"I don't understand it Ozpin, the girl I remember was never one to choose a physical style over a tactical approach. Now she's losing her cool and executing submission maneuvers at the drop of a pin!" Ozpin would simply shake his head as he helped Qrow to a seat with a slight smile before heading back to his own post behind the desk. "Your niece just executed a nearly perfect armbar and the first thing you ask is 'what the hell happened', I truly admire your tunnel-vision Qrow." He would lean back in his seat even as his old ally just stared at him incredulously as the headmaster queued up some footage from inside Bálor's dorm. "There's two sides to every story as the saying goes, your niece is a smarter soul then you give her credit for." Qrow would lean in close as the two began to argue.

"Tell me it isn't true!" Ruby had burst into Bálor's dorm room as he was laying on his bed as he was trying to recover from his brief skirmish with Weiss, the levitation from earlier having taken more of a toll on him than he was expecting. "Tell me you weren't responsible for killing prisoners and innocent guards while in the middle of a riot!" She would watch as his ears perked up at that statement, indeed the wolf Faunus would bolt upright and look upon the crimsonette with a face of shock.

"How..how could you possibly know about that incident?" His pupils would dilate somewhat, as if his mind were replaying the horrible images back for him to look upon. Seeing this reaction was all that the crimsonette needed to confirm that Weiss was indeed right about his participation in the massacre at the prison, but what she really wanted to confirm was his state of mind during the killing spree and judging by the way his body was trembling it seemed very improbable that he enjoyed any of it.

She would sigh and take his hands in hers with an exasperated smile as the red hooded reaper laid her forehead against his, lowering her voice to a whisper. "tell me what happened, you know you can tell me anything and I'll stand beside you regardless."

Bálor would sigh and looked at the silver-eyed Huntress with an empty-eyed gaze as she squeezed his hands once more. "I don't get it Rubes, I've wounded your sister's heart and pissed off half the team..why stand with me?" She would chuckle and pull the silver-haired young man close as she planted a very chaste kiss upon his lips as she looked into his amber eyes. "I thought we went over this way back when, it's because I love you silly."

He would sigh as he tried to pull away from her with a wistful smile upon his face, not willing to believe that someone aside from her sister, his own dead mother, and Ozpin (to a point.) could ever care for him as something more than a tool or at the very least a very dissatisfying lay. "Yeah, that and a lien will get'cha a small bag of Skittles honey." He would laugh quietly at his own terrible joke, only to have his laughter smothered by a more forceful kiss that would cause them both to fall back onto his bed.

Ruby would pull away for breath as she looked down at him once more, this time with a determined look in her silver eyes as she pinned his arms down with her hands. "Now do you believe me?" The crimsonette would grin as she went for the zipper to her skirt, his eyes widening at the implication of what she was determined to do just to get him to talk.

"Alright! I'll talk little Rose." He would glance over at the door to his dorm room questionably, sighing in relief when he determined no one was nearby. Yang already had enough reason to have him stomped down by her 'funboys', if the brawler were to walk in on them now then there was no doubt he'd be publicly executed given their current positioning. "Let's just..sit down on the bed like normal people, Dust knows that if anyone were to walk in on us now I'd be toast, and not the delicious warm, buttery kind." The crimsonette would raise her eyebrow curiously before the implication suddenly dawned on her.

"Ahh I get it now, you're afraid of Yang wanting to strangle you aren't you?" She would giggle as she helped the amber eyed Faunus to a sitting position before ruffling his hair playfully. "Well, given everything that's gone on between us lately that's a pretty reasonable fear." The red hooded reaper would lean in expectantly, waiting for him to begin this week's segment of "story time".

The amber-eyed Hunter would sigh as he stared down at his already trembling hands as he closed his eyes tightly. "It was just supposed to be another cell block inspection, they made us stand outside while the C.O.'s tore through our cells looking for contraband: ciggies, communication devices…porn." He would flush slightly even as Ruby glared pointedly at him, almost as if she were jealous of the thought of him oggling other women.

"Easy does it hun, the boys in Cell block D might be murderous savages but even they have a bit of a moral code. I'd get a smack on the back of my head for trying to even sneak a peek, hell I learned how to play poker before I had any kind of experience with a woman." She would calm down somewhat at this statement, even though the silver in her eyes still glimmered with pent up jealousy causing him to shudder under the weight of her gaze.

 _"Fudge, and I thought Yang being jealous was freaking scary. I can't believe my little Rose has thorns like this."_ The once-embittered prisoner would shake his head as he attempted to continue his reminiscence. "I don't know which one of the guys got antsy but before I knew it everyone was throwing punches, pulling shivs outta nowhere and just going off like a pack of dogs." He would shudder as he recalled the screams of the frenzied inmates and the bigoted remarks of the guards that tried to keep them in line. "I had managed to have my father's swords snuck in thanks to some favors from 'El Jefé', that's what we called the big boss who keeps our block in line."

Ruby would nod slowly as she took his hands in hers once again, trying to keep the young man from completely shutting down on her. "It's okay, I'm here with you..just listen to my voice, finish the story Bálor. Finish it for me."

He would gulp and nod as he tried to compose himself and proceed further down the proverbial rabbit hole of memories. "I was terrified, the guards were just laying into us like there was no tomorrow. My friends were in trouble and I just wanted to save them all, so I just started slashing at anything and anyone that moved!" He would sob violently as he turned away in shame at the sudden outburst of sadness, if there was anyone he tried to look strong for it was Ruby Rose. "By the time I finally snapped out of it, everyone was dead, my blades were drenched in blood, and the other guards found me bawling like a bitch. It wasn't long after that when the military came a-calling and I was sent off to train with Sis and the rest of those traitorous lepers." Bálor would finally go silent as he started shaking like a leaf, causing Ruby to hold him tightly as she stroked his hair lovingly. "It's okay, it's all going to be okay…" She would look over at his desk, seeing the most recent picture of the two of them together outside of Cookie World holding up a massive Snickerdoodle cookie together. _"I'm going to protect you, no matter what happens next between us I will always stand beside you. I'll make it so that you never have to be that scared ever again!"_

Qrow would be seething with anger as he watched his niece holding a raging criminal as close as one lover would hold another, clearly Ruby had finally lost her way and needed to be taken back to Patch for a good talking to from himself and Taiyang. "Why didn't you put a stop to this before it got too far! He's your dog, you have a choke chain. USE IT OZ!" The Signal Academy instructor would stumble as he got to his feet, looking to the headmaster for some kind of reaction, growling as the man remained impassive to his pleas. "I can't let her make the same mistake that Summer nearly did with that mutt's father, I'll skin him alive before I ever allow that madman's dream to come true!"

It was at this point Ozpin had heard enough, standing up and facing his ally with irritation and disgust.

"Qrow, I'll give you the fact that Bálor is a hardened criminal that should've been kept on a tighter leash, I'll admit that the majority of his time here has been sent sowing chaos and discord amongst my students and, I'll even grant you the fact that perhaps he and Ruby had gotten too close too fast." He would stop upon seeing Qrow smile smugly at his assured victory against the silver-haired young man, but Ozpin wouldn't allow himself to validate his friend's soused ravings towards his failed ward. "But in no conceivable way, in absolutely no way period is he anything akin to Jack Moonlight. He was a lunatic with no sense of boundaries or self-control, driven mad by his own fevered fantasies of a future that could never be!"

Qrow would sneer as he looked down at the frozen image of Ruby holding the silver-haired wolf close to her heart, it didn't matter how hard his friend defended the young man Qrow would see the boy's father and his dearly departed friend Summer Rose.

 _"I stopped you once Jack, and so help me I'll be more than happy to dole out the same punishment to your little whelp!"_

Ruby would be making her way back to Bálor's infirmary room, a bag of cookies in one hand and her latest designs for her beloved's new weapon.

"I'm so sorry I did this to you." She would stop mid-step upon recognizing her sister's voice inside the room, her protective instincts were screaming at the crimsonette to rush inside and prevent the brawler from finishing her demented quest to destroy the wolf, but her feet refused to move forward, instead she was forced to listen in as her sister continued to whisper to the sleeping Faunus.

"I know it's foolish of me to ask you for any kind of forgiveness, given everything I've done to you I wouldn't be surprised if you went bionic and hunted me down for revenge or something." Yang would squeeze his still complete hand sadly as she tried to hold back the tears that had been building up over the course of the day. "Baby, I wouldn't blame you for wanting retribution, I should've listened to you more when you spoke. Not just lose my cool and argue with you the way I did!" The golden-maned Huntress would sigh quietly as she stroked his cheek gently, even as her mother Raven began to tire visibly behind her.

"I know you mean well my dear but I can't keep your sister's shadow pinned in place for much longer!" The masked woman would grunt as she exerted more strength into her Semblance trying to counter Ruby's efforts. "I think she knows you're here and is probably thinking you're back to finish the job."

The brawler would sigh sadly, knowing that she was more than likely correct, remembering the grief-filled keen the crimsonette had released upon finding the young man maimed on the floor of the Critical Care Unit. "B; I'm sorry that I don't have much more time to give you a proper apology, but I hope against hope that this will make a good first step." Yang would take a deep breath as she stared at the small pair of scissors in her hands, not liking what she was going to do but knowing that it would serve as a means to an end down the road. Perhaps it would even serve as a prelude to some reconciliation between them. "I do what I do for you…" The brawler would whisper this quietly as she cut a lock of her golden mane and tied it to a small charm that she had bought some time ago, quickly placing it in the young man's pocket as Raven cried out in pain and Ruby burst into the room with a look of anger and her eyes like two boiling pools of silver.

 _ **Well there you have it. Knight, I broke RWBY rule 101 buddy, for a good reason but still. Recently a Guest criticized my handling of same-gender relationships, citing that I was just making Monochrome a thing to work for my story.**_

 _ **Guess it's time for another trip behind the curtain, I've been through more than a few same-gender relationships, in all honesty I found it easier to deal with my fellow males than a female, but coming from a catholic family such relationships are frowned upon so I had to hide it and live in quiet fear, my other halves didn't appreciate this and eventually left me alone. I tried going back to women, but it's frustrating. And it's not a bedroom thing either.**_

 _ **So to that random clown who said I don't know s*** about those kinds of relationships: You don't know s*** about me! I live in fear of disappointing my family if I screw up in school again, constant pain from the kind of pressure that brings, yet I come here to show my interpretation (MY interpretation) of one of the finest shows I've had the dumb luck of finding on Netflix and going all in after ONE viewing of Volume 1. I knew going in that I would get heat for what I do but to see that some of you think that my fics are like me taking a steaming pile on Monty's legacy, you have no idea how much that tears at my heart.**_

 _ **For those of you who continue to follow this fic (there's one more step to go) or me in general, I advise you to strap in and hang on for dear life because things are only going to get even more bonkers.**_

 _ **For those of you who don't, well I'm sorry you don't feel what I'm laying down, and I hope you find a fic that floats your boat.**_

 _ **Before I go I wanna thank Asura Boss and her fic "Thorns of a Rose" for inspiring the title of this chapter, and thank/apologize to Drake D. Zero for inspiring Raven's Semblance (at least my guess of it being Shadow Manipulation)**_

 _ **Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna go ready the flame shield before hitting the hay.**_


	5. A quick apology

_**Ladies and gentleman, we interrupt your regularly scheduled fanfic (or abomination depending on your views) to bring you a small update**_

 _ **If you read Ghosts of Us finale (time to say goodbye) then you've noticed that a lot of things were hurriedly rushed into place, that wasn't my intended finish. I pulled a Russo and executed a terrible swerve, so to those who read the original finale: I'm sorry.**_

 _ **To those who haven't: stay tuned for the proper ending.**_


	6. The Next Step

_**This, was a living breathing Hell for me to write. Distractions, constant re-writing, additions, deletions, and the saddening news that the pup that I was supposed to bring home a week after being born alongside her brothers Brownie (which went to my older brother) and Snoopy (which went to my folks.) was killed the night before, so this goes out to my little girl..God called you home early little one, rest well.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth who shouted us all out with that whole "team attack spiel, Bálor's mine (please send all death fodder and parody fic use requests my way and I'll gladly consider it)**_

"Yang, what the Hell do you think you're doing in here?!" Ruby was seething as she unfolded Crescent Rose, seeing nothing but red in front of her as she stared down her older sibling. The two of them had been so close once upon a time, but that was before the silver-haired young Huntsman touched their lives and tore Team RWBY asunder like a piece of fruit thrown into a blender. "After everything you've done so far, to have the gall to even sit at his bedside!" The crimsonette would take another step forward as she tried to piece the situation in her mind, this strange woman with a Grimm mask who was breathing heavily as if she were exhausted from doing something strenuous. Then there was her sister, looking at the younger reaper calmly as she slowly moved away from the sleeping wolf. "Okay Ruby…just take it easy, I'm not going to hurt B-" The blonde would stop short as she saw the crimsonette's eyes flashed in response to her use of his pet name. "I'm…I'm just here to say goodbye to him sis." Yang would flinch as she looked away from her sister at the monitors displaying Bálor's vital signs, as far as she could tell everything looked completely normal.

"Goodbye..?" Ruby would frown, folding up her weapon and holstering it as she approached her big sister cautiously. "Yang, are you saying that you're leaving Beacon? Leaving me?" Her eyes would well quickly before running to the blonde-haired Huntress's side, sobbing quietly as she clung to her desperately. "Yang, you can't go! I know we've had our issues lately but that doesn't mean you have to leave us all!"

Yang would smile and gently stroke the crimsonette's hair fondly, kneeling down and placing her hands on the young woman's shoulders in a motherly fashion as her lilac eyes stared into silver pools of sadness, it was rare for the blonde to see her younger sibling in doubt. "Rubes I'm not leaving Beacon because of this mess with Bálor, as a matter of fact that's the last thing I have to worry about..and do you know why?"

The red hood would shake her head curiously, noticing a change in her sister as she watched her move over to help out the masked swordswoman, there was a clarity in those lilac eyes that hadn't been present on the day of the malicious prank.

"It's because I know that when I leave here, he'll be in the best possible hands I could possibly hope for: Yours."

Ruby's eyes would widen at her words once they slowly sank in, her small fist slowly clenching as she had a feeling of déjà vu from the previous times she had said those words. Yang would see this and shake her head with a cocky smile at Ruby's salty reaction before helping her friend to her feet. "I told you that I was leaving him in your hands sis, this isn't a write-off." The brawler would walk over to her hooded little sister with a satisfied look upon her face. "This is a passing of the torch Ruby."

Qrow would slam his fist down on Ozpin's desk indignantly as the pair of Huntsman watched on the camera feed to the infirmary as Yang described her actions as a 'Passing of the Torch', their uncle was beyond livid as Ozpin finally cut the feed and stared at Qrow with what little patience he could muster.

"Do you understand now, those two are not the same little girls you and Taiyang coddled back on Patch: Yang's become something akin to a proud lioness who sees the world of Remnant as her own personal savannah in which she bears dominion over, while Ruby has begun to bloom and become-" Qrow had finally heard enough from his former ally as he leaned forward with a steely-eyed gaze, surprisingly analytical for someone who had endured a vicious armbar from his niece not ten minutes ago.

"Enough Ozpin, I intend on taking Ruby back to Patch and giving her mind and body time to recover and purge herself of this silver-maned sickness that's befallen her." The instructor from Signal would heft himself to his feet and shake his head in disgust as his nieces continued to talk amidst a sleeping wolf and his exhausted sister. "You may be right about the boy Oz and the curse of Jaggerjack may bypass this generation entirely, but Ruby is my family and I'll be damned if I let yet another wolf piss in our garden." He would sigh and dig into his pocket to see a folded up picture of himself with his old team:

Himself, with his weapon hefted over his shoulder and looking very stern, then there was Raven with her back to him but looking out into the distance with a fierce but quiet determination. Then there was the girls' father: Taiyang Xiao Long, a handsome pugilist with a penchant for bad puns that had been successfully passed on from father to daughter, he had been a fierce detractor to the original demon's ambitions towards his second wife and Ruby's mother Summer Rose, who stood off on the far end of the photo with a shy but angelic smile that was well hidden within her white cloak. He had been there for the birth of both of the future Huntresses and had thus been as proud as the parents themselves upon their entrance into the world of Remnant, and had quietly resolved to watch over them to the best of his abilities.

 _"Somewhere along the way I failed you miserably Summer, and now the demon's progeny has managed to make his way into the hearts of both of your daughters."_ Qrow would calmly fold the picture and place it back in his coat pocket before staring at the door before him, seeing it as the gateway to the next step in their family's perilous journey's with a demonic wolf breathing down their back. Jack had fallen with a little help from his own personal demons (and from what he remembered of the rumors in Vacuo, a rarely occurring sinkhole that appeared in the deserts.) but this boy was a different kind of beast altogether: He was cunning enough to make himself appear as either a completely annoying but lovable goofball or some apathetic loner who hated everything. Both approaches were enough to at least attract the more curious of individuals to his social gravitation, but to snag both the wild and overly boisterous Yang and the shy but lovable Ruby to his attention was nothing short of malefic intervention and Qrow knew he had to put a stop to it before the mistakes of their generation were repeated once more.

"Qrow, you do realize that she won't go quietly with you back to Patch, there's a fire inside of her that's driving her instinct to protect him. She will not leave his side by choice, and if you do decide on using force than an armbar will be the least of your worries."

The veteran scythe-wielder would chuckle grimly as he laid his hand upon the handle of the Headmaster's door, knowing that the reports of a 'Black Queen' manipulating the strife behind the scenes were upsetting enough.

"Ozpin, trust me when I say that by the time Raven and I return from our separate tasks you won't recognize the Huntresses who are accompanying us." He would look back at the bespectacled man with a cocky grin as he finally opened the door and made his way out. "But of course, you already knew that." The door would close behind him, leaving Ozpin alone with his thoughts and the hint of a smile crossing his face.

"He has no clue of what lies ahead of him in that department, women in love never tend to go silently into the night and I imagine Ruby will scratch and claw to keep Bálor at her side no matter what Qrow has planned for the two of them." The headmaster would bring up a diagram of all the major players in this upcoming storm of madness: Sure enough himself, Qrow, and Raven were the ones leading the charge, with Ironwood and the soldiers of Atlas being listed as 'tentative allies'. _"I want to believe that you have our best intentions at heart James, but you also answer to the back and call of weak-minded bureaucrats who have yet to see the bigger picture."_ He frowned, looking upon the grayed out displays of Bartholomew Oobleck and Glynda Goodwitch who had been forced to be taken out of play due to their participation in Yang's malicious prank, however with enough time they would eventually be brought back into the game despite whatever personal malice the had towards the wolf Faunus. "Whether they like him or not, the situation requires a combined effort from all parties to bring down the oncoming storm." And that brought him to his group of players and pieces that resided in the halls of Beacon Academy, unfortunately the lynchpin of this entire unit Team RWBY was now completely in shambles. "This is an absolute disaster, RWBY was supposed to be on the frontlines of these upcoming battles and yet now because of the actions of one man…we could be at a major disadvantage before the battle even starts, if not defeated outright."

Ozpin would scroll over to the final page where only a few faces remained outside his virtual board.

The first was the aforementioned wolf Faunus himself, his actions had always been a source of major confusion for the headmaster, despite his best attempts to keep the young man out of harm's way the young demon had forged ahead with whatever personal agenda he had in mind.

"Perhaps I should have let some of Glynda's punishments pass unabated, he turned into a willful train wreck…not unlike his father." Ozpin looked at the young man's photo before marking him as a "tentative enemy" and leaving a note that the boy be monitored closely in light of physical and mental duress. _"Prove me wrong son…prove me wrong."_ That left only two pieces to be properly put into place: The first was a certain spiky-haired Keybearer and his furry companion, currently running around the city of Vale trying to do right by the citizens despite clearly not being from here. Never mind the fact that he was running around with a dog that belonged to one of his best students, the fact that the boy appeared from seemingly nowhere a few months ago was disconcerting to Ozpin, a man who had always had his finger on the pulse of things happening in the city of Vale and his appearance had been one of the few happenings he could not freely predict. The other being the sudden invasion of Grimm by Vale, luckily everyone had banded together to repel the attack.

"Perhaps I should find this young man and question him, it seemed to work out quite well with Ruby."

His thoughts would be interrupted by a video call prompt appearing in the bottom right of his screen, the contact information was labeled as "Restricted" meaning the last piece of his puzzle was now in place as he brought up the caller's scrambled face with a sigh.

"I was wondering when you'd finally make contact, though I was hoping we could finally at least see one another's faces on this occasion.

Bálor would finally come to with an audible groan, not recognizing that effectively half his world view was lost to him, and that his right hand was pulsing with short bursts of agony when he tried to form a fist.

 _"What in Dust's name?"_ The wolf Faunus would immediately feel panic start to seep into his bones, not realizing that the earlier skirmish with his now-ex sweetheart had left him a maimed wreck of his former self. _"Stop it Moonlight, get a grip! Try to remember what happened back in that room."_ The amber-eyed young man would force himself into a passive state as he tried to piece together what few memories he could find: Confronting Yang in the hallway, getting viciously egged and battered by mysterious freaks in dragon masks and being reduced to a whimpering mess before someone began to beat on him viciously, and finally himself and Ruby hurtling through the air on a collision course with a building and yet somehow finding the time to tell her that he loved her.

" _Wait, why would I say that? Ruby and I…aren't…"_ His mind would flash back on the happier times alongside his little Rose, the two of them entertaining crowds of "Amazing Ruby Red and Burly B" better known as the Vaudevillains of the Vale Promenade, although their antics belied their villainous name as children smiled in approval at Ruby's acrobatic antics while the older folks marveled at his feats of manly strength. _"She actually made it work, oh dear God don't tell me-"_ He would immediately use his other hand to feel around his chin and face for any signs of facial hair, sighing in relief when he found none. "Hah! I told her she wouldn't be able to make me grow a moustache!" For a moment he would feel triumphant at the fact that he wasn't a complete ripoff of Simon Gotch, before he remembered that for all intents and purposes he was now in some sort of a relationship with his best friend. _"Why can't I remember it all, it feels like there are huge gaps in my memory. What happened to me?"_ Bálor would grasp his head with one whole hand and one heavily bandaged stump as a migraine tore through his skull and crying out in agony.

Ruby would gasp suddenly, interrupting the long-winded spiel that her uncle Qrow had been on. It was as if she could hear his cries of agony from outside in the courtyard, her instincts were telling her to run back to his side immediately as the doctors had warned her that there was a good chance that he would be in shock upon waking and that it was probably for the best that there be a friendly face to greet him.

"Ruby! Are you listening?" Qrow would sigh as he tried to keep his antsy young niece in place, clearly she was upset at being separated from her silver-haired demon and such a reaction worried him deeply. It was one thing for a person to be worried for their friend's safety, but this was becoming downright annoying as she continued to struggle against his grip. "Calm down, he's comatose and even if he wasn't he's in no shape to go anywhere. Now, since I'm being forced to repeat myself: I'm going to temporarily remove you from Beacon and take you home to Patch!"

This would pique her interest as she stopped trying to escape and instead turned to face the veteran Huntsman with her silver eyes wide in surprise. "Y-you're pulling me out of Beacon?" Ruby would pull away from her uncle with a look of shock, not knowing what to say in response to the older man's words before disappearing in a flurry of petals and speeding back to the RWBY dorm as fast as her Semblance could take her. When she had finally arrived she was stunned to fight that not only had her older sister already finished packing her belonging, her friends were in the midst of doing the same (which meant a complete luggage cart taking up a good portion of the room in order to accommodate for the heiress's many, many luggage cases.)

"Not you guys too!" The three Huntresses would pause in what they were doing and turn to face their leader: their faces would be a mix of trepidation, sadness, and anger as all three girls had their own individual gripes with the crimsonette over her current actions.

"Girls, this isn't the time for Team RWBY to be breaking apart! W-we still have to deal with the White Fang, there are Grimm everywhere and-" Blake would hold up her hand as she sighed heavily, mulling over her next words carefully. "Ruby, I understand that you don't want us to split up but-" Weiss would be the one to keep her kitten from stammering onward any further as she glared at her partner and now former team leader, her jaw clenched as she wanted to completely blow up at the red hooded reaper.

"Allow me to be the voice of sanity here: Ruby, for the last two years together we've followed you because despite your glaring lack of maturity in comparison to the rest of us you were always the one to lead us forward in the fields and in life with a level head." The heiress would sigh as she stepped closer to the silver-eyed young woman, wincing internally at the heartbroken look in her eyes but standing firm regardless. "But recently you've lost your damn marbles, I understand that first loves can be engrossing..you honestly believe that together the two of you can take on the world as long as you stand together." Ruby would shake her head and try to counter the pale-haired Huntress's arguments but Weiss would silence her again, this time with a finger atop her lips leaving her partner to blush visibly while Blake bristled silently in the background. "But this is bordering on the lines of scary. Ruby, there's more to the world then looking after your precious wolf and I hope that one day you can see him for what he truly is: Just a guy with some very shady motives, and a lot of blanks that need to be filled in." She would finally step back with a frown, knowing that she had kept her more heated barbs to herself along with a plea for her to come back to the more rational side of reality.

Ruby would see their team photo in her mind's eye, only now there were cracks beginning to form as the heiress stated her case. The crimsonette would turn to Blake with an eyebrow of curiosity raised. "What about you Blake, what were you going to say before Weiss dropped in her two lien?" She hadn't meant to be confrontational towards the feline, but judging by the way her eyes narrowed there was something in the younger woman's voice that tipped her off.

"I don't trust him Ruby, I've never trusted that mutt as far as I could throw him: The poem he left me, his actions towards Weiss and myself in general, what he put Yang through." Blake would look to her golden-haired partner with some concern, only to have it be returned with a quiet, smoldering resolve. "Those aren't the actions of someone who has your best interests at heart, merely his own goals who just happens to need a gullible sacrifice to-" She would stop upon feeling the heat radiating from the back of the room, she had pissed off the brawler to the point that her Semblance kicked in. "That's quite the surprising reaction coming from you Yang, thought you said you were done trying to housebreak the little doggy."

Yang would look to her partner with a sour expression upon her face, her hair glowing a pale gold as she stepped away from anything flammable and closer to the raven-haired feline.

"I'm leaving B in Ruby's hands, so any issues you have with him can be dealt with through her at a later date." The now red-eyed Huntress would grasp the former White Fang member's shoulder with a firmness she usually reserved for her enemies. "But don't even begin to think I won't knock you out for comparing my sister to some sacrificial pawn, Ruby's made her choice and like a proper sibling should I'll back her play..for better or worse."

Blake would smile wickedly before breaking free of the brawler's grasp, she knew her partner could be somewhat stubborn when it came to looking out for those she cared for. She had proved as much back when the feline Faunus had been obsessively hunting for any news of the White Fang following the incident at the docks in Vale, often forgoing sleep and only eating the bare minimum as she scoured the net for any hint of a lead. It was until a day before the annual school dance that Yang had more or less dragged Blake into an empty classroom where the two finally had a proper talk, the former expressing her worries for Blake's obsessive quest and how it was affecting her adversely while the Faunus tried to defend her actions by stating that it was in Vale's best interest that the group of renegade Faunus be stopped (or at the very least, dissuaded from their current path of violence.) sooner rather than later. It wasn't until Yang revealed her own personal quest to find her mother along with a story that involved the sisters in their younger days nearly being killed by Grimm while out chasing a lead, if it hadn't been for the timely intervention of their uncle Qrow than neither woman would have been there at Beacon today.

"It's not your sister that I'm insulting here Yang, it's the flea-ridden company she insists on keeping! Bálor's shown time and time again how completely unstable he is upstairs yet Ruby keeps coddling him and enabling further bad acts!"

Yang would sigh as her hair returned to its more passive golden color, her eyes however would remain red as she faced down her cat-eared friend.

"You're not entirely wrong in that respect Blake, but the lot of us screaming to the rafters at her to snap out of it won't play out here." The older Huntress would look to her younger sibling with a frown upon her face. "She needs to see for herself what the real Bálor Moonlight is like, even if it means taking the both of them outside of Beacon for a while."

Blake would mull over her partner's words carefully, she had expected Yang to join her side of the argument following her great prank. Instead, gone was the malicious mindset of a vengeful ex-girlfriend and instead was a woman who saw her actions with 20/20 hindsight. Hating him and getting revenge had soothed the wound temporarily, but it was through understanding and patience that she had learned why it had hurt so much and perhaps even how to mend it.

"So, you're saying we NEED to break up Team RWBY? I don't understand why we can't just work through this and not break up the team, why can't we just talk it out?" Ruby would be heartbroken as the reality of her team's demise, and the friendship that accompanied it were becoming more and more of a reality with each passing minute.

Weiss would tiptoe past the pair of embittered women who were simply staring at one another and approach the young Ruby. Her own icy heart beginning to crack as the tears began to well up in the red hood's silver eyes, taking her by the hand she would lead the crimsonette outside and onto the balcony, closing the door for the sake of privacy.

"Ruby, I know it feels like the world is crumbling down around you right now but you need to understand that this is a necessary evil. Team RWBY would've broken up eventually, if not now than most certainly following graduation." The heiress frowned as the first of what was assuredly many tears slid down her partner's cheek, reaching into the breast pocket of her jacket for a monogrammed handkerchef and gently wiping the tear away. "This is not goodbye by any stretch of the imagination, I do intend to return back here and hopefully reform Team RWBY with Blake and the rest of you whenever you've finished what it is you've had to do."

Ruby would sniffle, trying to keep a stiff upper lip in much the same fashion as the heiress was, but failing to do so as the sobbing began in earnest and the crimsonette clung to her partner for comfort.

"But- but what if I come back and Bálor's still with me, then team RWBY will never come back together again!" She would look up to Weiss for confirmation of her statement, only to see her pale-blue eyes soften somewhat.

"Maybe that's true, but the Ruby I know would never leave any friend high and dry just for the sake of keeping things the same. I know you'll find someway to make things work between us all, but for right now I'm definitely needed back at the SDC."

This would pique the crimsonette's curiosity as she felt herself being firmly detached from the hug she had Weiss locked in. "You're going back to your family's company? What for?" Ruby had always known her partner as someone who wanted to avoid working behind a desk back in Atlas, to have to go back meant that something was seriously amiss in the Schnee Dust Company.

"Something just seems very off with how Torchwick and the White Fang got their hands on that Paladin a while back and it's never sat right with me." The pale-haired young woman would look out at the grounds of Beacon Academy while the crimsonette did the same, the two would sit in silence for a few minutes just appreciating one another's company.

Eventually Weiss would sigh quietly as she closed her eyes in preparation of what she was about to say.

"Ruby, about the things I said a while back..where I said that I loved you." The heiress would go quiet as she saw her partner freeze up at the mention of that moment amd she didn't blame her for that reaction, the pale-haired woman wasn't exactly in the best frame of mind that particular day and how she had acted towards Ruby herself still left her feeling very guilty even at that particular moment. "I've found someone else."

The crimsonette would raise her eyebrow curiously at the not-so sudden revelation of her partner being off the market, she was beautiful for a Huntress and thanks to being born a Schnee she was beyond well off in terms of finances.

"So, you and Neptune finally made things official did ya?" Ruby would smile as she had spent a decent amount of time listening to Blake and Weiss comparing their respective partners in any and all ways conceivable.

Weiss would sigh and shake her head as she thought about the last time she had seen hide or hair of the azure-haired playboy, in a sense she did miss the cocky non-dancing dunce but they had ended things on a sour note and since then the heirest had resolved herself to finding someone of substance and loyalty. "It's not Neptune, we broke up the day before Team SSSN got called back to Vacuo."

The crimsonette would frown in thought, as she gestured for Weiss to go and reveal more of the situation. "Well, who is the lucky guy to claim the golden challace that is the heart of the fair Princess Schnee?" She would use her best carnival barker impersonation that she usually reserved for Vaudevillain related situations. "Come on who is he? Who is he? Who-" Her incessant queries would finally be muffled by Weiss's hand covering her mouth with a heated glare upon her face.

"It's not a guy at all you dunce! Now I want to tell you who it is but you need to stay absolutely calm do you understand?" The heiress would wait until the red hood quietly nodded her affirmation to the demand as Weiss carefully pulled her hand away from the girl's mouth. "I-I'm with Blake now…" Her cheeks would flush upon finally saying it outright as she watched Ruby's face for any sort of reaction from her partner. "Well, come on…say something you dolt!"

The reaper would stare at the pale-haired Huntress curiously, as if looking for something that she just couldn't voice while Weiss just waited impatiently for some sort of reaction from her. "You…really like girls don't you Weiss?" Ruby would smile as the heiress's blush deepened in response to the crimsonette's basic and clear cut question. "It's okay, I've got nothing against it. I think you and Blake will make a great couple down the road." The silver-eyed young woman would sigh happily as she looked out at the setting sun with a blush of her own, thoughts of her long and crazy road with the amber-eyed wolf passing through her mind. "You ever think that somewhere there's another version of us that didn't go through all this insanity?"

Weiss would sigh as she looked over at the setting sun with a pout as she mulled over Ruby's question, it was out of left field (as most of her questions were) and left the heiress feeling curious herself.

"Well, if there is an alternate version of Remnant somewhere in the universe…I envy that world's Team RWBY." The two of them would go quiet as they continued to stare out at the sunset.

Bálor would be sitting alone in the infirmary as the sounds of his heart monitor beeped quietly in a steady rhytmn as he stared down at the mysterious charm he had found in his jacket pocket after the nurses finally cajoled him into removing it.

"I don't even know where to begin with this thing." He would gently run his remaining fingers over the strange wolf-shaped charm, it seemed like something a person would find in a roadside curio shop thought one would buy for a friend on the way back from a long trip. However the one strange and most outstanding detail were the strange golden threads that were carefully wrapped around its tail, they were strangely soft to the touch and radiated a warmth that felt strangely familiar to him. "Something's telling me to hold onto this..thing." His ears would perk up quickly, hearing footsteps coming down the hallway as he hurriedly stashed the charm underneath his pillow.

"So, you're the little bastard that's messed with my nieces." A strange, somewhat wobbling dark-haired man would be standing in the wolf's doorway with a stonefaced glare. "You must really think you're hot shit don't'cha ya little puke!"

 _"Nieces?"_ The amber-eyed Faunus would sniff the air calmly, noticing a sour scent hitting the air, one he recognized well from his time laying in his adopted sister's lap in his beginning days at the barracks in Vacuo. _"Whiskey, and it's cheap."_ Bálor would smirk slightly, seeing that this intruder was clearly off of his game and too soused to realize just where he was. "Look buddy, I don't know who you are but the bars are back in Vale. I'm just waiting for my girlfriend to come back through here, she's a badass Huntress prodigy so I suggest you get to step-" His insult would stop short as the man suddenly had his weapon positioned at Bálor's throat, the edge gleaming as its edge shone brightly causing his amber eyes to widen in shock. _"How the hell did he move so fast, the only one to ever catch me off guard like this is Ruby!"_

The newcomer would smirk in triumph as he pulled his sword back from the wolf and resheathing it while still somehow stinking of alcohol. "Ozpin really overestimated your abilities boy, if you can't even overcome a drunk like me then I really have to question anything written in your dossier." He would look off to the side, seeing a familiar white cloak floating outside the window and frown in annoyance. "Really? You've come all the way out here to lecture me at this particular moment?"

Bálor would frown as the man continued to look out at the empty window and argue with the view of nothing outside. _"This guy's so loaded he's seeing shit!"_ The wolf would slowly scan the room looking for objects to defend himself with, although it quickly became apparent that thanks to his earlier suicide attempt the room had been stripped of anything that one could even consider using as a weapon. _"I honestly should have seen this coming, mom was in a mental asylum and they wouldn't even let her bring her hairbrush with her."_

"I know damn well who this kid is Summer, you seem to have forgotten though..or has the sweet release of death made you lose a few brain cells!" The drunkard would continue to glare at the white cloak who seemed to answer his queries silently. "Oh you've always had your issues with Jack, even after what he tried to do to you, you insisted he could be changed!" The use of Ruby's mother's name as well as his own father's name set off alarm bells in his head, there was no way in Hell that the Demon of Vacuo would ever associate with outsiders.

"Uncle Qrow..who are you talking to?" Ruby's voice would break through the long winded diatribe Qrow was apparently lost in as the wolf averted his gaze entirely as he tried to hide the slight blush that was rising up his cheeks.

"Ruby, when did you show up?" He would watch his young ward cross the room over to the silver-haired Faunus's bedside and gently taking his hand in hers with a loving smile, his mind would flash back to a past moment where son and daughter were replaced by father and mother respectively. "It's as if the whole mess is repeating itself again, how long before this boy tries to harm Ruby the way the bestard's father did?"

Bálor would frown under the heated gaze of the drunkard he now knew as Ruby's uncle Qrow, even as she was telling him of what was essentially Team RWBY's last group meeting his skin would not stop crawling as he felt fear for the first time since he watched his sister, the lynx Faunus sniper known as Strawberry Asada. "Make him go away." He would glance over at the veteran scythe-wielder quickly, wilting further as Qrow's gaze became more pointed, before shaking his head in disgust.

"Bálor, it's just my uncle..sure he may be a bit of a grump but he means well, I'm sure he's just worried about you as a fellow Huntsman, right?" The silver-eyed young woman would look to the older man for some sort of confirmation, only to see the wolf starting to tremble visibly.

"So this is the son of the great Demon of the Sands. I'll give you some credit, you getting one over on Ruby takes some doing." Qrow would remove the sword on his back and spin it about lazily, reveling at the young man's every flinch as the sword's edge pointed his way. "Jack would spit on you if he saw the way you're acting right now, a weak pathetic coward like you-"

The amber-eyed demon would snarl as anger started to override fear and his need to prove himself to this veteran grew larger, only to feel Ruby's grip on his remaining hand tighten in response to what could have been the start of a fight.

"Then again, maybe you do need a moment to cool off Uncle Qrow." She would face her uncle with a firm resolve, she knew that despite her training (and his less than optimal state.) that a straight up fight wasn't the best option.

Not for her, and especially not for him.

"Ruby, you really have fallen far from what I'd hoped you would become..all the training we went through on Patch, with your father watching over you.!" Qrow would glare at the bed-ridden young Faunus with even more contempt in his heart for the name 'Moonlight' than when he'd arrived in Vale. "If you won't see this abomination for who he really is, than perhaps isn't the place we should be heading to..No, perhaps we should return the mutt back to his own personal sandbox: The Hole located in Blackvale Prison!"

That was the last straw, the last bit of prodding that he could possibly stand before finally snapping outright.

Lunging out of the hospital bed with nothing to aid him but a bloody stump, some telekinetically lifted pillows and a heart burning with rage and desperation not to be thrown back into that foreboding Hell, the wolf would set his sights on Qrow with the intent to spill blood. However he would find his path of attack cut off by a familiar red hood and a florish of rose petals as Ruby wrapped her arms around the injured young man tightly, unknowingly doing as her older sister would have done by keeping him from falling to the ground.

"Please Bálor, you don't have to fight anymore!" The crimsonette would struggle to keep the angered Faunus standing upright before sighing and lowering the both of them to a seated position while looking over at her uncle with fire in her silver eyes. "Uncle Qrow, I made a promise that I would do my best to keep Bálor from ever having to be so afraid that he would kill! Let me keep that promise!"

The older Huntsman would sigh as he shook his head firmly, stowing his weapon back in its sheath before facing the two teenagers: Ruby had her mothers courage and the conviction to keep her friend safe, but she lacked the wisdom that Summer had obtained through life experience.

"You can't possibly hope to keep someone from experiencing fear Ruby, it's an aspect of life that guides not only the Huntsman and Huntresses forward in their journeys but all of humanity as well." Qrow would groan and drag the young man to his feet by his hair, ignoring the Faunus's hiss of pain as the amber-eyed young man stared daggers at him. "If you truly wish to be of any use to this mongrel, than stop shielding him from his fears and instead help him face them." He would feel his scroll vibrate in his pocket and nod quietly as he looked down at the young woman he helped train only a few short years ago, she had become stronger physically that much was certain, but there was still one very important trial that the crimsonette had yet to overcome. "Ruby, I'd like you to accompany me back to the deserts of Vacuo. There's an old friend of the family there that I have business with, and I think that meeting him will benefit the both of you greatly." The two younger Huntsman would stare at Qrow in confusion at the man's suggestion, but Ruby would be the one to voice their feelings as the silver-haired Faunus was too spent to speak properly.

"I don't understand what you mean, how can meeting this "friend of the family" help us? Bálor needs rest and time to recover, not a trip to desert on some…thingy!" Ruby would take note of her dear Faunus's exhausted and strained expression, wishing she were a more stronger individual and not a child being scolded by family. "Why do you want him to return to the place that broke his spirit?"

"Because that is where you'll be able to find what you need to be able to fix his spirit." Ozpin's voice would interrupt the trio's tense standoff as he merely stood in the doorway of the infirmary room. "After all, you can't fix a broken puzzle just by mashing different pieces together in the hopes that they all fit now can you Miss Rose? Sometimes in order to find what is truly lost we sometimes have to head back to the basics, for mister Moonlight that would be the deserts of Vacuo just as the island of Patch would be your path back to the start of it all."

The crimsonette would begin to protest once more, only for Bálor to begin laughing quietly as something finally clicked in the young man's head.

"Of course you would say that, you always seem to know what the next move in your grand chess match Ozpin." He would snarl and kick at Qrow's ankle to get himself free while hissing from the loss of a few stray hairs while glaring at the bespectacled Headmaster. "Well I'm tired of being your chess piece goddammit, I have my own aspirations and dreams to chase!" He would growl and point his bloodied stump towards the shocked crimsonette Huntress who had saved his life merely days ago. "Chief among them being the one involving my future with Ruby, I'd become the second coming of Jaggerjack himself just to see her smiling and happy as she walks the road of a Huntress!"

Ozpin and Qrow would exchange a silent glare at the upstart wolf's outburst even as Ruby was left a blushing but smiling young woman as she basically watched her beloved friend declare that he'd give everything he had left in order to help her achieve her dreams first and foremost.

"Then let's go, not to the prisons of Vacuo or back home to Patch. Let's go back to your home Bálor, I wanna see the place where you grew up." She would slowly make her way over to the riled-up wolf's side, gently taking his remaining hand in hers once more with an earnest smile. "Will you take me there?"

The next day would be an important one for the ladies of Team RWBY as they had all set upon separate goals for themselves: Ruby had decided to join her beloved wolf as he set to get back to basics and find himself, a journey that her uncle had insisted would cause them to cross paths with an old family friend and help them grow as individuals. Weiss and Blake would return to Atlas to further investigate the shady underbelly of the Schnee Dust Company in an effort to discover just how the White Fang had gotten a hold of Atleasian Paladin's and other mechanized weapons that were usually given to the military and others who fought the creatures of Grimm.

Yang hadn't exactly let it slip what it was that she had in mind for her future, only insisting that when she returned from her travels, she would be strong enough to crush the "darkness" that was headed their way.

But regardless of whatever motives were driving them on, the four of them would be standing in the center of their dorm with their hands on top of one another and a look of resolve in their eyes.

"One year girls, no matter what we do along the way..we meet up back here next year!" Ruby would grin sheepishly as the others nodded in agreement as they kept their hands in formation, it was one of those rare times where words weren't needed for their feelings to be expressed to one another.

"You do realize that there's a good chance that some of us might bring back an extra companions, after all most of us aren't traveling by ourselves ya know?" Weiss would say this bluntly before cracking a smile and looking toward her cat-eared traveling companion.

"But nonetheless we're going to meet up once again, even it means we're dragging an army with us when we get here!"

Blake would nod in agreement while staring into Ruby's silver eyes in cold silence, as much as the feline had hoped the heiress would talk the reaper out of her blind loyalty to the silver-maned demon it was clear that she was dead set on following through on her shaky road. "No matter what perils befall us, we will stand as one!"

Yang would close her eyes and keeping a toothy grin upon her face, she would pump her free fist as a sign of resolve in her secret goal before looking to her sister and nodding in silent agreement as the proverbial torch had been passed.

"Well ladies, this is where we part for now..but rest assured that Team RWBY will rise again! So don't go running off and getting yourselves killed you got it!" The crimsonette would grin as they finally broke their formation as they gathered their belongings and headed out one by one, Ruby being the last to leave as she stared back at the empty dorm room as the ghosts of happier times past played out before her.

"We'll get back to those times someday; these Ghosts in Us will never be forgotten, and we will stand together as a team one day." She would sigh as she felt a familiar hand rest upon her shoulder, causing her to smile happily and lean into her wolf's embrace while shedding a few tears for the loss of these golden days at Beacon.

"Your speech was amazing my dear, I have to admit that even I got a little revved up listening to you all declare..whatever it was you were declaring." He would blush in embarassment as the crimsonette kicked him lightly in jest, earning his laughter as he held her close to himself. "Honestly Ruby, you were born to be a Huntress and a leader. If you could inspire four very different minded individuals to stand together in order to reach a common goal, then you really are someone amazing." The amber eyed Faunus would look down at his little Rose, seeing more than the cookie loving, weapon obsessed young woman that he had met in the beginning.

There was a light around her that brought tears to his eyes, she was going to be the best of them all when this was all said and done. And as they began to make their way out to the Bullwark that would take them (and a less than happy Qrow) to Vacuo, Bálor made his own silent declaration to the young woman who was now holding his hand.

 _"Ruby, I don't care if I end up becoming the devil itself…I will become strong enough to help you realize your dream of being one of those storybook heroines."_ He would shut his eyes tightly as the sun shone down on the pair of them, the road ahead of them was bound to be a perilous one but he had resolved himself to that path out of love for the crimsonette now standing beside him. And maybe with a little luck from the strange wolf charm now hanging around his neck, they would make it back to Beacon in one year's time as stronger Hunters and more seasoned people.

 _ **Geez, this was a mess to get written out in a timely manner thanks to the previously aforementioned issues, so if the ending feels kinda wonky..not really sorry.**_

 _ **Thanks to this debacle I'm going to step away from writing for a few days but if you really need to read my stuff then it's all there. In the meantime there's a poll up on the profile page that'll let you the people decide the next fic I work on.**_

 _ **Addiction: The Schnee sisters are summoned home by a dying papa Schnee in order to compete in a series of ordeals that'll determine which woman will carry the mantle.**_

 _ **Mmm Gorgeous: A CFVY-centric fic that sees Coco grapple with trying to change the Academy uniform, a womanizing playboy in Fox, and a Holiday away from Beacon to worry about.**_

 _ **Machinations of Darkness: A RWBY/Kingdom Hearts crossover that sees Master Xehanort and Cinder Fall team up to bring Remnant into the darkness before stabbing one another in the back like all cheap villain team ups.**_

 _ **Peaches and Blood: An AU take on Conversations that sees our heroic wolf turn into a rampaging psychopath (not because of a busted monitor) and sees to bring down the hammer of "I will make your lives Hell" to JNPR**_

 _ **Silent Aria: Neo sets out to paint the streets of Vale with blood and it doesn't matter what your alignment is, you're gonna get got!**_

 _ **Fan's Choice: Since you folks seem to think the way I do things? Fine! You set the rules and I'll write it out to completion!**_

 _ **In the meantime, I'm going to bed- STINGER!**_

Ozpin would watch on as the four members of Team RWBY all took their separate Bullwarks to wherever the winds of fate took them, forgetting that he was in the midst of a very important call to Vacuo.

 _"-zpin! Ozpin are you there?!"_ The voice on the other end would be rather impatient as the headmaster watched his students leave knowing that despite the fact that RWBY's separation was necessary to their growth, the timing for these journeys of self-discovery was absolutely abysmal.

 _ **And cue the Volume 3 opener.**_

"I'm here Miliardo...I trust you have things set up over there in Vacuo?" The bespectacled man would silently sipped from his coffee mug as he pondered his enemy's next move.

" _Yes, I have the individual you requested me to find in my custody, as well as the boy with the Key you mentioned. You were wrong about the spiky hair though."_

This would shock him somewhat as he had not planned for a second Keybearer to land in Remnant, nonetheless he had landed in allied hands and that made for another very useful piece to add to their side of the board. "So I was, keep them nearby old friend..you'll have guests very shortly."


End file.
